Changed
by KaylaDestroyer
Summary: The only sister he'd ever known was dead, he was the youngest of his brothers and their new leader, and he had very little to go on to find his real father. But Squint had a small, persevering hope; that maybe, his true father would be the one to fix all of his mistakes, and give him life renewed. Unknown to him, however, someone else longs for a new beginning as well...
1. Prologue

Changed

Kylie sped up the earthen steps to her oldest sister's chosen post. She and each of her sisters had been given a special gift on the day of their birth, and each excelled in a particular area. Funnily enough, the oldest and the youngest shared the same power, just to a different extreme. Kylie coud sense darkness from a close range, and only whether it was a strong or weak threat. Her sister on the other hand, Faith, could detect darkness from a great distance, as well as read a little bit into the carrier's thoughts and emotions, but no where near what their father could do. Panting, the young doe at last arrived, having been telepathically summoned to Faith's perch. The older doe sat on a large, smooth stone that resided near the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Her posture was calm and thoughtful, however Kylie knew full well that she'd been summoned for an important reason. "Faith!" she called. "I'm here! What is it?" She stopped short, kneeling beside her sister's rock to catch her breath. She became slightly confused when her sister didn't reply right away.

At last, she said, "Someone's coming, _here._ Someone not of the light." Kylie tilted her head with interest.

"A convert to be, perhaps?" she suggested hopefully. She was always eager to see another despairing creature comforted and given hope by her father. Faith's eyes opened halfway, and she peered out at the ocean.

"Perhaps," she replied cryptically. "He's quite fargone, very wayward from our standards. He's coming with a great emotional burden, yet he nurses a sliver of hope." The older doe turned to look down at her youngest sister. "He appears as most others do who seek a way out of the darkness, but there's something about him, something more that irritates me. I can't figure it out." Kylie looked out over the ocean, fantasizing about who this strange, new visitor could be.

"Is he coming alone?" she inquired. Faith pursed her lips in a grim line.

"No," she said softly. "That also disturbs me."

* * *

**So there it is, guys! The begnning of 'Changed'! We've already met two of Squint's sisters! And I still have thirteen others to name...XD Thank you to all who reviewed the epilogue on 'Within', and plz review this prologue and tell me what you all think! 'Till chapter 1! :D**


	2. Chapter 1

Changed

A light rain pattered the ocean, plopping into the ocean and smacking into the ice deck loudly, sliding down the icy hull. The entire mood of anywhere within a mile's radius of _The Great Explorer_ was dark and sad, and the rain clouds above did nothing to help the situation. Depression and anger roiled within Squint, fighting with one another for dominance of his heart. The anger made a good argument in his eyes; Magnus had just done a most unspeakable act, then tried to convince Squint to join him. And for a short while, the buck had actually entertained the thought of _keeping_ the crazy old buck on the ship, slowly getting him accustomed to his pirate family. So Squint could have been angry at both his father's imposter and his own ignorance. But then the depression would strike up a good point as well; Squint had allowed himself to draw away from his loving sister, and toward a stranger who wanted to keep the young buck all to himself.

And then the whole ordeal had ended in him not only rejecting Magnus's offers, but also him losing his only sister to a fiery eternal sleep. Accompanying the depression was disbelief, responding to the fact that Squint had allowed his life to be thrown into such chaos and such losses to hit his family. Yet he supposed it couldn't be helped; it wasn't as if someone could have planned for them to dock unknowingly on his birth continent, or that mammoth killing Gutt and defeating the crew, or even as far back as Magnus's second command being stupid enough to let him almost drown, and place Raz in the prime position to rescue him. It was impossible that someone could have formed some divine plan to put Squint in the position he was in now, wasn't it? Was this all not just a coincidence, an event of life that happened to be extremely painful? The young buck looked up at the gray sky, suddenly remembering the few fleeting words Magnus had spoken of his father. "_Death couldn't keep my father down..._" he thought with awe.

"_If he has that much power, maybe...maybe he could do anything he wanted. Maybe...maybe he could take care of me...a million miles away._" Such a thought brought Squint a smidgen of comfort. It was a bit strengthening to know that, somewhere, it was possible there existed someone with enough love and power to save the life of a tiny little rabbit kit who knew nothing of his real parents. The gray buck gave a sigh, standing at the ship's rudder and glancing out over the ocean. His fur was soaked already, and his seaweed sash had been left behind at the southern tip of the continent. He ran his paw through his marked fur, thinking of all the trouble the discovery had brought him.

Truly it had been wise of Raz to hide it from him all these years, allowing him at least twenty-one years with his adoptive family before her death. He tried to keep his spirits up with the thought that he was now searching for his blood relatives, whom he hoped would embrace him with the same love and interest the kangaroo had when he was a baby. Yet fear crept into his mind; surely he would be much different from them; what if he fell too far below their standards? What if they rejected him for the rotten mess he was? What if-

"Hey, Squint?" a soft, Bengali voice asked. The buck turned to see Gupta standing a few paces behind his back, arms wrapped around himself as he stood in the light but chilly rain. The badger gave a shiver. "You should go inside," the now oldest sibling said. "If you stay out here too long you will become _asustha_." The rabbit buck turned back, staring at the deck forlornly and contemplating whether to take up his brother's offer. A paw laid itself on his shoulder.

"She was my _bona_ as well; I may not have shared the same intimacy of your sibling bond, but I am also pained by her passing." Squint nodded silently. His paw slid off the rudder, submitting it into Gupta's command; apparently it wasn't merely an offer. However he did not turn around. "Squint," Gupta said, causing him to turn completely. "It will be fine; you will find your other _paribara_, and they will be the ones to do _yud'dha_ with you." he encouraged with a small smiled. Squint gave a tiny smirk, somewhat excited by the prospect of learning new techniques from his rabbit family in the art of combat.

Then he gave a sigh, frowning once more. "It's just, _weird_, not having her around," he admitted, although that aspect in particular wasn't the major pain he was experiencing at the moment. Gupta nodded.

"I agree," he said. "No go on inside; I'll take over steering."

"You know where to go?" Squint asked for confirmation. The badger grinned.

"We follow the coastline until we reach the northernmost point of the continent," he replied, nodding towards the sliver of land in the distance. Squint nodded back in approval, then turned and made his way across the rain washed deck, making his way down below to the food storage. On his way he passed by the brig, stopping to stare inside for a moment. So much had happened in that room; plotting, training, discovering, comforting, playing, and it had all included Raz, Magnus, and himself at one point or another. And it had set the stage for the tearing apart of his pirate family. Shaking his head he continued on, soon reaching a long stairway that led to another, deeper level of the ship. He grinned wryly as the phrase 'tip of the iceberg' came to mind.

There was a reason that saying existed, and his crew had taken advantage of it. This particular hall was lined large caverns in the ice walls, all dedicated to holding the crew's bounty. They didn't actually pillage 24/7, like most people pictured their occupation to consist of. Were they always ready to attack an unsuspecting ship and raid their food source? Definitely. Were they always stocked with enough food to last them three years? Double definitely.

Gutt had never been one to let the food supply run out, as going savagely hungry was something animals were well known for. And the practice had stuck with the crew long after he'd died. The buck followed his sensitive ears, soon finding the cavern his brothers had chosen to eat in, sheltered from the rain. His presence seemed to cheer them slightly; Flynn was still sniffling three days after Raz's passing, and both Dobson and Silas appeared to be in the same depression boat Squint had been flip-flopping between it and anger. No sunlight could be seen, as this level of the ship was underwater, however a few small torches had been lit and wedged into the wall to allow sight. The flames painfully reminded Squint of Raz's nightly ritual, and of the boomerang that sat safely in the captain's quarters with his knife. Silas smiled and flapped over, landing next to the rabbit and wrapping a wing around his shoulders.

"Ah, _mon frere_, you have at last come for a bite to eat," he greeted with a slight cheer to his voice. It was true; Squint had not eaten since Raz had passed away, compared to Flynn, who had eaten nonstop to stem the flow of sobs.

"Yeah, I just haven't been that hungry, Si," the rabbit replied with a shrug and a slight smile. The petrel nodded.

"Perfectly understandable," he replied. "Now come sit; have some _nourriture_ while Gupta's guides the _expedier_," he insisted. Squint allowed himself to be led over to the smaller mountain, compared to the others in the room, that his brothers had gathered around.

* * *

**So there's chapter one, everybody! I'm working on making my chapters shorter, so this one was only about six or seven pages rather than eleven. XD But I hoped you enjoyed it. This was just to give a little insight to how the pirates were coping with the loss of Raz and how they tried to comfort each other. Next chapter will be very interesting...VERY interesting. Hee hee hee...mua ha ha. So, please review and let me know what you guys think!**

**Thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**96DarkAngel**

**for reviewing the prologue! 'Till next chappie! :D**


	3. Chapter 2

Changed

Cael blinked in confusion and shock, tilting his head at the scene before him. The forest was burnt for miles, the ground seared with scorch marks, ash piles sitting everywhere. "What in the world?" he asked, looking around in bewilderment. He'd come from the west side of the continental shard, escaping those he'd prefer to never name again. He'd seen the smoke cloud from many miles away, but he'd never imagined the fire had covered so much area. Hardly any trees remained of what had used to be a lush forest, the area looking dead and bare. Upon spotting some tracks in the ash and dirt, Cael decided to follow them.

He noticed, to his further confusion, that the tracks were smoking all on their own, the ground within them pulsing red and yellow. The Procoptodon put several feet between himself and the strange prints, then began following them out of the burnt section of the forest. Perhaps the owner of the prints had caused the fire? Maybe even on accident? The tracks didn't suggest that the creature had been running, rather they were slow and thoughtful, as though the animal had awoken and taken enough time to remember the history of the world. The most surprising aspect was that he recognized them as the prints of another Procoptodon, this one _female_. "This could get interesting," he muttered to himself.

The tracks stretched on for many miles, extending into what little of the forest had survived. Cael soon found, to his satisfaction, a kangaroo jill of his breed, sitting all alone in front of a smaller campfire. Something about her seemed odd, but he had always been one to dive in eagerly. Approaching her calmly from behind, he held up one paw and gave a wave, calling out, "G'day, sheila," The jill straightened up drastically, whipping around to stare at him with a frightening amount of focus. Cael could see little of her fur, as night had fallen long ago, but he could clearly see the shocking, golden orange shade of her oculars. It looked like someone had set two pieces of gold on fire, then used them for the female's eyes.

He blinked in shock, unable to compute a proper response for a moment. She stared at him deeply for a moment, before sniffing and turning back, hunching over her campfire. Feeling somewhat indignant that he had been pushed aside with such ease, Cael tilted his head with a slight sniff of his own, before hopping over cautiously. She clearly wasn't like any jill he'd met before; she didn't care for jacks as of what he could tell, and she had no fear that he'd yet seen. Not even fire appeared to scare her, and he'd met plenty of creatures both larger and fiercer than kangaroos that fled at the first sight of a single flame. "Um, I know you might be busy, wallowing in whatevah' thoughts might be ah, plaguin' your mind right now," he continued. The jill stiffened, but otherwise gave no acknowledgement.

Cael maneuvered himself carefully around her sitting form, catching her eye. With a grin he asked, "But would ya' mind if I joined your little..." He struggled for a term to fit her lonely activity. "snooki-snooki powwow?" he finally decided, wiggling his fingers at the campfire in a particularly ridiculous manner. The jill merely raised one eyebrow, appearing unimpressed, before turning back to her campfire. Cael, taking it as a 'yes', sat down near her. The jill gave a growl, baring her teeth at him and scooting away.

Cael leaned back slightly himself, surprised at how volatile and touchy the female was. "Uh...sorry, sheila," he muttered. She merely continued to growl at him, eyes slowly turning a powerful shade of red. Cael stood hurriedly and took several hops back. "I meant it, I'm SORRY!" he exclaimed, terrified. The jill instantly calmed down, grunting with satisfaction and resituating herself comfortably. Cael stood for a moment, eyeing the strange jill with interest.

He then noticed her body beginning to shiver, and the fact that her fire was quite small. "Um, sheila, I'm not sure if you're tryin' to prevent anothah' fire or not, but you look like you're about to freeze to dea-" With speed he was sure was unnatural, the jill suddenly jumped to her feet, spun around, and grabbed Cael's right arm. She stared at him intensely, eyes returned to their golden orange shade. Yet for the entire meeting, she refused to speak. Her grip wasn't too tight, in fact it seemed almost affectionately soft. Her gaze pierced into him, as though she were assessing him.

Cael let a nervous grin slide into place. "Look, sheila, I get that you want your space, and I'm sorry if I got on your nerves," he began. The jill's grip only tightened, her paw suddenly growing very hot. Cael's grin disappeared. He tried to jerk out of her grip, but she held fast, her paw only becoming hotter and hotter. "S-sheila," he stuttered.

"Let this be a lesson to you," she sneered bitterly. Smoke began to rise from their appendages. Cael's cyan blue eyes widened. "I _don't_ take kindly to visitors." Then a searing, fiery, dreadfully burning pain shot into Cael's arm, and he let out a pain filled scream. He couldn't even try to pull the appendage free as his flesh was boiled like a potato, the jill glaring at him with her equally fiery eyes. The Procoptodon jack suffered for a while longer, slowly lowering himself to the ground and kneeling limply.

Finally he was released, scrambling back several feet and holding his arm to his chest, cyan eyes wide with fear. The jill glared at him heatedly, and in more ways than one. The paw she had gripped him with glowed an ominous red, and the other drew a large, bone weapon from her pouch. Cael's eyes widened further, and he struggled to his feet. Then he hopped as fast as his legs could carry him, painting in fear and mind racing from the strange experience. When he at last deemed himself safe, he sat beside a tree, leaning against the sturdy trunk to regain his composure. He hesitantly held his right arm up for inspection, and instantly wished that he hadn't.

Although the wound was considerably small in how much area it covered, it was a ghastly sight to behold. Where his dark, ebony fur had once resided, there was now a patch that had been completely burned away, along with a section of his skin, leaving the muscle tissue in plain sight. Even worse, the muscle itself had been dreadfully burnt and was now a very dark red rather than a healthy pink. Blood was slowly pooling around the wound's outer edges, trying to heal the unnatural burn. Cael let out a groan of disgust, turning away for a moment. "Water," he muttered. "I need water."

At first he was frightened to go anywhere, lest he bump into the terrifying jill again. "She probably won't be any where _near_ water," he reasoned with himself. With a shake of his head, Cael added, "Fallin' in a lake would probably _kill_ her," With that he stood and began hopping, smelling the air for any nearby liquid sources. "_This is punishment, I just know it,_" he thought as he traveled. "_And_ _I deserve it, after what I did to that poor little joey. And he still...he still forgave me..._"

* * *

Raz watched the strange jack hop away, no doubt to nurse his newly acquired wound. She looked down at her left paw, the one she'd grabbed him with, noting the glow emanating from it. Her expression softened as the glow faded, memories dancing in her head of the day so long ago when she had cut the same paw with her sword. The gash was healed now, and the leaf bandge had been burned off before she'd awoken. Expression melancholy, she sighed softly and slipped the sword back into her pouch, returning to her campfire. Taking heed of the jack's words, she enlargened it, the extra heat pleasing her. Raz thought of her brothers, who were most likely sailing the seas now to new and fascinating places, and almost wished to go with them.

She thought of Squint, and how he would have responded to what she had done. Surely he wouldn't have approved of her using her new powers so harshly; something told her that these pyrokinesis abilities were not to destroy, as she had done all her life. They were to be used to fight and defend, yes, but not destroy willy nilly for no reason. Raz's face contorted into a sob, and a single tear, made of searing hot lava, seeped from the corner of her eye. Placing her face in her hands, the jill laid herself on the ground, commanding the flames to form a bed underneath her body and cover her like a blanket as she cried. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "So, so sorry..."

* * *

**So there's chapter two everybody! Quick recap here: Magnus is voiced by Ian McShane, Kylie is voiced by Anne Hathaway, Faith is voiced by Keira Knightly, and Cael is voiced by Jack Sparrow. Yes I know Jack Sparrow is voiced by Johnny Depp, but when I imagine his voice in my head I hear the Jack Sparrow voice, not the Johnny Depp voice. Thank you to:**

**96DarkAngel**

**For reviewing the last chapter! Plz review this one and let me know what you all think! :D 'Till the next chappie! **


	4. Chapter 3

Changed

Kylie raced back to her family's burrow, excited by her oldest sister's news. Someone not of their light was seeking them out, and it seemed as though he intended to share in said light. She burst into Aranga's room, as she was the second youngest of the fifteen sisters and her room was the closest to Kylie's. The youngest doe's crystal blue eyes sparkled with excitement, her dark brown fur blown back from the seashore's wind and her own sprinting. Her ears were tied back with a pretty piece of seaweed, the plant interwoven among the hearing appendages so that it appeared Kylie had a sort of braid. Aranga was reading a something on a large piece of banana leaf; no doubt a story she'd written recently, probably editing it. Aranga's fur shade was a light rosy pink, her eyes a deep shade of ebony.

The older doe's ears hung loose and floppy, prone to sway with the slightest breeze and subject to swinging left and right with each turn or jerk of her head. Aranga smiled and set the banana leaf parchment aside, standing to greet her youngest sister. "You look awfully happy, Kylie," she noted. The youngest sister nodded eagerly.

"We're gonna' have a visitor, Aranga!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms up with glee. "Faith says that he's lost, but he's seeking out the light," Aranga nodded.

"Father must be drawing him in," she replied warmly. Kylie merely gave another excited nod.

"I can't wait to meet him," she said with a happy sigh, clasping her paws over the golden mark on his chest. "Faith says there's something about him that she can't tell, and I have a feeling he's very special," Aranga chuckled in response.

"Perhaps he already has powers," she suggested. Kylie shrugged.

"Maybe," she agreed, a grin still plastered to her face. "I feel it pulsing in my rebirth mark; he's important, I _know_ he is!"

"We'd better spread word throughout the Warren," Aranga suggested. "This visitor sounds like he requires special preparation." Kylie gave another excited nod in agreement, and ran ahead to tell the rest of their sisters.

* * *

Squint returned above deck after the storm had ceased, picking up his knife along the way. He'd left Raz's boomerang in a secure hiding place within the Captain's Quarters, intending to keep it hidden until they went ashore. Did he trust his older brothers with their last piece of Raz? Absolutely; before anyone else. Was he afraid of losing it as easily as he'd lost his actual sister? Indubitably. The buck relieved Gupta of the steering duty, saying he was refreshed from a good meal and a nap.

"The coastline is curving away from us," Gupta reported. "We've either reached the other end, or there's a lump in the side we're following." Squint nodded with a soft grin.

"Thanks, Gup," he replied. "I'll keep on the lookout." The badger nodded and smiled back, then clapped his youngest brother on the shoulder.

"Good to see you're up to smiling again," he noted. Squint chuckled. In all honesty his grin was very small and soft; he wasn't sure that he would ever return to his ways of grinning as widely as he used to, and with all the excitement that had previously resided inside himself.

"Yeah well, like I said, I got something to eat and took a nap," he replied, crossing one for over the other and balancing himself with one paw on the rudder, the other fist on his hip while gripping the hilt of his knife. Gupta nodded. "You should probably do the same thing," the rabbit suggested. Gupta stretched his arms out, cracking his back before replying.

"Yes, I probably should, I _have_ been thinking about grapes for a while." Squint scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"After you eat tell the guys to come on up here; I have a feeling we'll be landing soon." he said.

"What makes you say that?" Gupta questioned with an intrigued smile, eyebrow raised. Squint shrugged.

"Like I said; I have a feeling." The badger nodded and saluted him.

"Will do!" he replied, before scurrying below deck. Squint turned to peer at the receding coastline, pushing the rudder so that the ship angled towards it. Something told him they were approaching his father, that the place to dock _The Great Explorer_ was nearby. It was as if someone were calling him, guiding him to his father. "_I'm on my way,_" he thought affectionately.

* * *

Magnus grinned from his perch on the cliff, watching as Squint's ship sailed parallel to the continental shard. The large vessel angled slightly towards the land, as though it intended to dock in the near future. "He's been drawing him in since the day he docked down south," he mused to himself. "Very smart of him; I saw the conviction in his eyes several times. But I _will_ keep him," Magnus's ebony eyes flashed dangerously. He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, watching the glacier ship for a while, before closing his eyes and disappearing in a swirling vortex of black sands.

* * *

**And there's chapter 3 everybody! We have met yet ANOTHER of Squint's sisters, which makes three, so we have twelve more to go! Yes, I'm being serious. I mean, why giv him 15 sisters and then not describe them all? ;) Next chappie will have some more of Raz and Cael in it, which I'm sure you will all enjoy. ;D Thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**96DarkAngel**

**For reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and let me know what you all thought of this one!**

**In Christ alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer**


	5. Chapter 4

Changed

Raz tried desperately to stay awake. She knew what would happen, should she fall asleep, and she didn't want to experience any more of _that_. It had been a week since that strange jack had tried to socialize with her, and now she almost wished he would come and distract her again. She had gotten quite the hang of controlling her fire, and now felt somewhat guilty for burning the other kangaroo. Hurting his arm had been an accident; she had simply lost control of her new powers and let anger overrule her mind, which had channeled her heat against the person aggravating her. She just wanted to be alone; her brothers had gone off to start a new, better life without their sister, and now Raz needed some time to piece her new life together. But when night fell, she knew she was never truly alone.

_He_ would always come, _he_ would plague her with nightmare after nightmare after _nightmare_ of the destruction of her brothers. Terrifying dreams of Squint joining his true father, of him turning against his brothers, of him _attacking_ his adoptive family swirled in her head every night. Thankfully she always awoke to a bright, sunny sky, and the knowledge that Squint had rejected his father's offer completely. She assumed that, with the younger buck gone now, she had become the object of torture, and so did her best not to allow _him_ any chances of entertainment at her own expense. However her own fatigue weighed heavily on her exhausted body, and the warmth of her flames was enticing. With a weary sigh she lay down, sweeping the fire beneath her body, so as to cushion herself from the could ground with searing heat. She spread her paws through the air and over her body in a slow gesture, encasing herself in a cocoon of pure flame.

The normally unbearable heat soothed her greatly, like a baby with its most treasured blanket, or Squint with his knife. With this happy, humorous thought in mind, Raz closed her eyes and curled up on her side, falling unconscious and dreaming of her quirky rabbit brother. In her mind's eye, she saw Squint as she'd always known him; grinning crookedly, one eye squinted as always, twirling his knife and throwing it around with the greatest of ease. She saw Gupta tackling the younger rabbit, practically begging for a brawl, but felt no need to stop them. Silas wheeled in the sky overhead, smiling as the breeze played amongst his feathers. Flynn bounced happily up and down a few feet away, playing his accordion in a jolly fashion. Dobson lay beside him, smiling and swaying to the music.

And Raz stood, overlooking them all, feeling as though she could wrap her arms around the merry group and never let them go. Sadistic, cruel, battle-hardened, crazy, ignorant, and gung-ho to maim, pillage, and plunder as they were, they were still the only family she'd ever known. That she had liked, anyway. And she wished she could find them again, that life could go back to normal. But as always, the reminder came that things would _never_ again be as they once were. Suddenly the ship grew dark, shadows springing up everywhere as her brothers cowered in confusion. They each (bar Flynn) drew a blade and formed a circle, back to back, excluding her.

Raz tried to approach them, to assure her brothers that she would act as their leader and protector, and that all would be well. But things never turned out as such. She suddenly felt something creeping up her body, snaking over her fur and throughout her insides. The kangaroo gave a shiver, groaning with disgust and displeasure as her form began to twist and squeeze strangely on the inside. Suddenly all but one of her brother's disappeared, imploding in a most horrifying fashion. "_NO_!" she shrieked, their terrified screams ringing in her ears.

"Razzie?" Squint whimpered fearfully, staring at her wide-eyed and shaking, his knife slipping from his paws. "W-what's going on? What's _wrong_ with you?" The kangaroo blinked in confusion, before turning and looking for some sort of reflective surface. Upon finding one, she gave a gasp of horror and slapped both paws over her mouth. Her fur was _black_, like the darkest of midnights without a moon. Her eyes were a bright, _crimson_ red, rather than the orange-tinted golden she'd slowly become used to.

Raz shook her head. "No," she begged. "_Why_ is this _happening_ to me?" She whipped back around to see Squint crouched beside an ice wall, resisting fervently against a legion of tendrils of dark material creeping over his form and trying to overtake his body as well. His green eyes opened fearfully to stare at her. "No!" she insisted, extending a paw and commanding that _something_ happen. Her black body was suddenly lit with flames, fire traveling across the ground at a rapid pace towards her youngest brother.

"No, no _stop_!" she commanded, trying desperately to save Squint. Sadly the flames only slithered ever closer to the rabbit buck, whose eyes were slowly turning red as black began to bleed into his fur. He struggled on, wriggling in place against the wall, panting helplessly.

"Razzie," he whimpered. Lava tears began to stream from Raz's eyes as the hopelessness of the situation began to sink in.

"Please, _NOOO_!" she screamed.

* * *

Cael stared into the water of the pond he'd found, mulling over his past, his present, and his future. He'd been born with a great power, and he had been trained to use it for the benefit of others, healing their minds in a way. But he had gone astray when wrong had been done to him, and had felt great shame upon realizing his petty mistake. Now he was on the run, seeking a place where he and his services would bring him no ill tidings. His mind returned, for the billionth time that week, to the strange Procoptodon jill. Something about her had emanated loneliness, whether it was the way she had sat so hunched and curled around her campfire, or a particular glint he'd glimpsed in her extravagantly colored oculars. "She's a strange case, that one," Cael muttered to himself.

"I wondah' what happened to her; how did she end up like that? Did she have a family?" he questioned the air. Suddenly his sensitive ears picked up the sound of paws padding over a ground covered with sticks and dead leaves, catching his attention. Looking up from the water, Cael scanned the surrounding treeline, spying a small figure making its way hastily through the trees. Cocking an eyebrow, he carefully rose to all fours, then began quietly hopping after the second stranger. He was surprised to soon find himself back within the jill's vicinity, hiding behind a tree and watching as a dark grey rabbit buck approached the fringes of her flaming bed's glow. A soft tapping sprung up in Cael's mind, and he instantly shifted his focus to the strange jill.

He hadn't allowed himself near enough anyone to _sense_ it in so long...After a moment he was able to make out figures dancing amongst the flames, figures of creatures he'd never seen or simply wasn't expecting in a kangaroo's subconscious. Cael allowed a soft smile to grace his lips. "Aw, look at that," he whispered, a delightful sensation traveling through himself at getting to experience his occupation once more. "She's dreamin'," he whispered fondly. He'd always loved this; watching as happy dreams played themselves out to the dreamer's comfort and delight. The jill's Dreamscape became more complex and detailed as she slept deeper and deeper, expanding to occupy the range of her fiery resting spot.

A large, flat, icy plain of some sort could be seen beneath the feet of the dream's elemental creatures, with a lone, large tree sticking up in the middle, everything made completely of fire. The animals were horsing around in a rather violent manner, but appeared ludicrously happy all the same. Cael glanced downwards to see the female kangaroo smiling lovingly in her sleep. Her lips formed a string of inaudible words, but they all appeared to be directed at the elements of her dream. "So beautiful to see," he breathed, feeling honored to witness such a joyful dream. Then, however, the situation turned dire. Something pulsed with Cael's mind now, alerting him of danger.

Head swiveling quickly back to the grey buck, he took note of the terrifying, _black_ sands swirling around his small body, and then what he could only describe as a twisted, _evil_ chuckle was sent subtly through the air. He extended both arms, working them through the air in extravagant mannerisms, sending his dark sands in and _poisoning_ the Procoptodon jill's Dreamscape. Cael's eyes widened as the pounding in his mind became painful and frantic. He could _feel_ the fear and desperation radiating from the female kangaroo as her dream turned sour, the flame-creatures imploding in a rather strange fashion, until only her dream-self and a rabbit figure, both of flame, remained. He could see her dream-self reacting to the events with horror, only heightened by the subtle yet striking screams that played in his head. The unconscious kangaroo's face twisted in terror as she remained asleep through the awful nightmare, unknowingly pressuring Cael into action. He screwed his cyan eyes firmly shut, shaking his head in a vain attempt to destroy the connection he'd allowed to form.

"No!" he whispered fiercely. "If I hurt one person, I'll hurt another! I can't give myself the _chance_ to do that again," He looked back at the Dreamscape, only becoming more horrified upon seeing that the buck had not finished. Not only were the flames of the Dreamscape shadowed and dwindled slightly, but _now_ the black sands were creeping over the jill's dream-form, covering her flaming dream-self and extinguishing its light altogether. Cael let his jaw drop slightly in horror, shaking his head. The sleeping kangaroo gave a whimper, burying her face in her arms, lips making more inaudibly phrase that he could only guess were beggings for mercy, and an end to her torture.

More black tendrils began to attatch themselves to the dream-element rabbit, slowly seeping into his flaming form and beginning to darken him as well. The jill's dream-self extended a paw, and a faint voice arose in Cael's mind. He, for a mere moment, attempted a tiny shade more of focus into the dream, to the point where the flames of the Dreamscape almost seemed to become _real_ ice, and he could almost make out fur color on the remaining dream-elemental animals. The moment he did this, however, the voice heightened to a volume he'd never experienced when presiding over dreams, and he leaned back with a shocked gasp. A terrified, longing scream of, "_NOOO_!" practically shattered his eardrums from within his own mind, and Cael made a sudden choice. Cyan eyes wide and fearful, he realized, "Not _helping her word hurt her worse than anything thing I ever_ did _do_." With this new thought in mind, Cael jumped to his feet, quickly making his way over and attempting to kick the demented rabbit away.

However, the much smaller creature was alerted to his attack, and vanished in a swirling vortex of the dark sands he'd wielded. When he didn't reappear for three seconds afterwards, Cael decided him to be a threat averted; for the moment. He turned back to the jill, noting with dismay that the sand tendrils still roiled within her Dreamscape, feeding the blackness that covered her dream-self and winding around the two remaining dream-elements. The kangaroo twisted and jerked and tossed, moaning in her sleep, face contorting in fear. "No, no, no," she moaned miserably, as if begging for the nightmare to end. Cael bent down and attempted to place a soothing paw on her temple, before realizing she was deep into the flaming haven wherein she slept; he'd never make contact with her without burning his own self. So he decided to concentrate his efforts on the actual dream for the moment.

He knew from experience that no dream-element could harm him, however it was difficult to differentiate between the fiery cocoon the female slept in and what little dream-elemental flames had survived the sand attack. There was a very awkwardly spaced gap at the very _top_ of the cocoon, and it would be difficult for Cael to reach over and inside to remove the dream-hazard. He panted anxiously in despair and worry, taking a moment to study the dream-element rabbit. He (or she) was struggling madly against the black sands, appearing to be in as much turmoil as the kangaroo whose dream they inhabited. And it was this particular struggle that appeared to terrify the sleeping jill the most. After a moment the flames lowered drastically, as if the real kangaroo were physically _weakened_ by the nightmare. However, Cael seized his chance, plunging both paws in and grabbing at the tendrils attacking the rabbit, draining most their power and yanking them out forcefully.

Looking around, he used one foot to roll a large, flat stone over, and shoved the weakened sand tendrils into the dirt, recovering them with the rock so as to prevent them from being found and reused. Returning to the Dreamscape, he discovered that the dream-element rabbit was slowly dissipating, smoothing out into a mere flame element of the Dreamscape itself. However the black sands were hardly weakened. They were all emanating from the kangaroo's dream-self, extending out and morphing into hideous creatures. The jill's dream-self backed away from the frightening monstrosities, her real self sobbing in her sleep and muttering more terrified phrases. Cael felt immense sorrow and horror at the teardrops of deadly _lava_ streaking down her face, and desperately tried to determine how to stop the black tendrils. "Make it stop," the jill whispered in a terrifyingly chilling voice.

Cael's eyes flicked down to her face curiously. "Please, I don't wanna' be like this," she continued in the same chilling whisper, shaking her head. Cael blinked down at her, face contorting in confusion. "Let me go," she sniffled, lava tears increasing. Then, aghast, he realized the crux of the situation; the jill's dream-self was no longer an element of the dream. It had become the life-blood source that was generating the monsters now attacking her. Therefore, the only way to stop the nightmare would be to remove her former dream-self.

However, one of the first things he'd learned was that even the tiniest of interactions with a dreamer's dream-self (former or current) could serve to wake them. And Cael wasn't too eager to awaken _this_ particular dreamer, considering her _last_ response to his gesture of friendliness. "This is my duty," he whispered, expression firming. "I _have_ to help her, I _need_ to...I _want_ to." With that he gave a grunt of effort, reaching in once more and grabbing the kangaroo jill's dream-self tightly with both paws. The sleeping creature gave a gasp for air, as if being choked, and Cael yanked on the dream-version of her with all his might. A loud tearing sound ripped through the air as the bodily connection between the jill and her dream-self was broken.

Her golden orange eyes snapped open as she sat up sharply, flame cocoon disappearing as she sucked in an even more dramatic gasp. She sat panting, paws patting the ground around her, as if searching for something. Cael took a slight step back, observing her cautiously as he held the frantically wriggling form of black sand in his paws. After a moment her eyes closed, face contorting slightly in pain as she let out a mournful sigh. "...Um," Cael began uncertainly. "Sorry, to wake you," he apologized slowly. The jill turned to him sharply, eyes roving over him with a frightening amount of intensity, before she gave another growl and sprung to her feet, slamming one paw around his throat and forcing him up against a tree.

Cael choked slightly, struggling to breathe and keep a grip on the sand monster at the same time. "_You_!" she snarled, baring her teeth in his face. Cael's eyes widened with fear and surprise as she panted angrily through her clenched teeth.

* * *

**And cut it off! XD Well, that is the currently standing longest chapter of this story, so far. I hope Cael's special powers intrigue everyone. ;) And I'm pretty sure you can all recognize a certain EVIL bunny. Also; I'm extremely happy right now because I figured out how to update from my phone! AT LAST! Now I won't require a tablet of some sort to update my stories! XD **

**Thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**96DarkAngel**

**BuckFan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and tell me what you all thought of this one!**

**In Christ alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer**


	6. Chapter 5

Changed

Raz was anything _but_ pleased. Magnus had come to torture her yet _another_ night, and now that _jack_ had returned. "You've got _five seconds_ to explain why you're here before I-" she began. The jack held up both paws, clasped around something back and squirmy that set Raz on edge.

"Now wait-wait-wait a minute, sheila!" he stuttered nervously. "J-just listen, please; I was tryin' to help you," Raz raised an eyebrow, regarding him warily. She curled her fingers so that her claws dug into his throat slightly, allowing her paw to warm up a few degrees. She, for the first time, took note of his handsome ebony fur and cyan blue eyes, which were widening slightly.

"Help me with _what_?" she sneered, baring her teeth.

"Y-you were bein' attacked; some rabbit was messin' with your dream, I had to _fix_ it," he replied. Raz blinked, her own eyes widening at his answer. Then she brought her face closer to his with a glare.

"How did you know that?" she demanded. "How did you know I was havin' a nightmare?" The jack choked for a moment before closing his eyes and appearing to strain himself, then he released whatever was in his own grip. A mass of black sand, bearing great resemblance to those wielded by Magnus, dropped to the ground beneath them. Raz jumped back at the sight, utterly repulsed by the evil weapon, then glanced back up at the ebony jack. He kept his focus on the sands for a moment, before looking up at her as well. The sands made minimal movement, shifting this way and that, blowing up a few inches into the air, but on the whole now appeared harmless.

"That stuff took over your dream-self; it was damaging you mentally, emotionally, for all I know _physically_," Raz tilted her head in wonder, scrunching her face with confusion. She held up one glowing, red claw.

"How did you _know_ I was havin' a nightmare," Here she held up a second claw. "And how did you know what was _happening_?" she asked, feelings of hostility being overridden by curiosity. The jack have a slighy nervous smile, chuckling slightly.

"Well you see, sheila," he began, spreading both paws. "I'm what they call a Dreamcatcher." Raz raised an eyebrow.

"You mean those little art crafts that humans make and hang in their little tents so they supposedly won't have bad dreams?" she asked skeptically.

"Technically; same concept," the jack replied with a shrug. "Only _I'm_ a livin' creature with the power of _choice_," he said placing both paws on his chest. He held up his left paw. "I can choose to remove all the frightening elements of a person's dream, and make it nice and sweet. _Or_," Here the jack held up his right paw. "I can take out everything _soothing_ and _happy_ in someone's dream, leavin' 'em with a nightmare." Raz eyed him for a moment, intrigued.

"So why did you make _mine_ bettah'?" she inquired next. The jack chuckled, placing his palms together.

"Well, that was my _choice_," he replied, before frowning. "Sadly not everyone makes the right choice _every_ time." Raz scoffed, crossing her arms.

"No doubt about that, mate," she replied softly. Silence stretched between the two for a while. The ebony jack took control of the sand blob once more, overturning a rock and shoving it into the dirt beneath, then recovering it. "What did you do to it?" Raz inquired with a slight tilt of her head.

"Uh, nothing drastic," the jack replied. "I simply had to drain most of its power, make it weak, so that I could hide it and it wouldn't be able to escape."

"You can do that?" Raz asked, voiced awed. The jack chuckled.

"Well...us Dreamcatchers can," he replied. Raz glanced away, before standing properly and holding one paw out.

"Name's Raz, mate," she introduced with a wry grin. The jack blinked his cyan oculars at her for a moment, before giving a nervous chuckle and tentatively shaking the outstretched paw. Raz smirked, regarding him with mirth in her eyes.

"Yer' not plannin' on fryin' me again, are you?" he asked nervously. Raz chuckled, allowing her paw to warm up a few degrees, just to make him jump.

"Nah'," she replied. "First time was an accident; you set off my self-guard alarm," she replied. The jack gave an uneasy nod.

"Right, course..." he acknowledged.

"So? Let's hear it," Raz said, relesing him and crossing her arms.

"Hear, what?"

"Your name, _gumby_," the jill replied with a chuckle. Her counterpart grinned sheepishly.

"Right, sorry. I'm Cael," he introduced. Raz nodded.

"Cael, huh?" She gave a chuckle. "One of my favorite veggies growin' up," The ebony jack gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes well, _this_ is one leaf you _can't_ eat," he joked, before looking fearful. "Seriously; you're not cannibal, are you?" Raz raised an eyebrow, before scoffing.

"What would give you _that_ idea?" she asked with a smirk. Cael shrugged.

"Well, you _did_ try to boil my arm like a potato without any water," he reasoned. "Not that there's...any hard feelings!" he added, quickly, holding both paws up in a gesture for mercy. Raz's expression fell, eyes traveling to his wounded arm. She reached out, gently taking the appendage in both paws, examining the burn wound thoughtfully. Cael, who was about a head taller than her, regarded her fearfully. She closed her eyes, placing one paw over the wound and concentrating.

* * *

Cael's eyes flicked between Raz and the wound she'd inflicted upon him. Surprisingly enough, she didn't cause any pain upon contact with him, and he couldn't figure out why. He felt her grip rise in temperature, and wondered what exactly she planned on doing to him. She reached a substantial heat, but still didn't pain his arm at all. Then he noticed the shallow wound being slowly filled with something new. It appeared to be a molten liquid substance, colored yellow, orange, and red. The liquid swirled gently within the shallow wound, cooling slightly and molding to fit where muscle and skin had been lost, soon appearing to change into skin itself.

Then the fur grew back instantly, and it appeared as though Cael had never been burned. His cyan eyes widened with shock, mouth dropping open slightly. After holding his arm for a moment longer, Raz slowly. Released him, opening her golden, orange tinted orbs gently. Cael held his arm up for inspection, running his paw through his newly grown fur, which felt no different than it ever had. "H-how did you..." he stuttered, lost for words. Raz blinked her half lidded eyes back to normal, then gave a shrug.

"No idea," she replied bluntly. Cael was even more shocked.

"You, you just _healed_ a terrible burn wound by filling it in with stuff that - for all I know it's _lava_ - you made the fur grow back and everything, and you have _no idea_ how you did it?!" he asked incredulously. Raz gave a solitary nod.

"Pretty much," she replied nonchalantly. Cael stared at his arm for a moment longer, amazed. Then he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the daze.

"Well...sh-should I be _worried_?" he asked shakily.

"I'm not," Raz replied with a shrug. The two stood in silence for a while.

"Well..." Cael began, rubbing his arm. "thanks." Raz smirked softly.

"Yer' welcome," she replied. Then she gestured to her still burning campfire. "You can join me, if you're not busy," she invited. Cael blinked his cyan orbs in surprise; truly female emotions were the most fluctuating things on earth. However, he saw this as an opportunity to start fresh.

"What's with the sudden hospitality?" he inquired cautiously. Raz shrugged, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you _did_ just save me from an evil rabbit, I figure it's the least I could do." Cael blinked in response, then gave a small smile and nodded. This the two kangaroos made themselves comfortable, sitting in front of the fire.

"I must admit, your abilities intrigue me," Cael began. "I've seen _many_ different special abilities, but I've only _heard_ of pyrokinesis bearers." Raz gave a nod, her expression darkening.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, she replied, "It's not a special or _happy_ story, where they came from." Cael observed her for a moment, deciding on whether or not to press. Raz's expression was one of both anger and regret, with melancholy infused here and there. Asking further could serve to flare her temper once more, and he wasn't interested in being burnt again. Yet he couldn't stand the sadness in her eyes; after all, his job _was_ to protect good dreams, and secure the dreamer's happiness.

"You know, stories that are hard to tell _normally_ just require the right listener," he encouraged, staring into the flames. Are a moment Raz gave a deep sigh, then straightened herself. She too gazed deeply into the campfire, and it grew to a substantial size. Cael decided to interpret is as her form of self comfort.

"To put it shortly; my family was infiltrated by a long-lost relative, who then tried to steal my youngest brother away, and there was a lot of lying with secrets and powers. And _eventually_, everything ended with heartbreak." Raz explained slowly. "Until I tried to fight _back_, which in turn got a knife in my heart-" Cael's eyes widened in shock, subconsciously traveling to the specified area to check for a wound he might have missed. But she was unharmed, as was ceary depicted by the firelight. "-and I honestly though I was gonna' _die_. But...when I look back on it I was only _mostly_ dead." Raz continued.

Then she heaved a sigh. "And _sometime_ between blacking out and wakin' up again I...guess I _attained_ these new abilities, or someone gave 'em to me while I was asleep." she finished. The jill looked down at her paws, gaze suggesting her mind was on far-off things. "It's somethin' you can only experience in one way...there's nothin' else like it." Cael glanced over at her curiously.

"Nothin' else like what?" he asked gently, captivated by her focus. Raz's golden, orange tinted orbs slid over to the campfire, paws slowly clenching into fists.

"Layin' on the ground...thinkin' it's all over...you're about to die and leave your loved ones behind. And then...then it nevah' happens. You black out for a while, and then you're shocked when you wake up. And you know...you _know_ everything is _different_..." Here she stopped, bowing her head slightly and closing her eyes. Cael's attention was drawn back to the campfire as it grew threateningly large, tongues of flame dancing through the air as the fire itself rumbled lowly, the debris feeding it popping and crackly loudly with surprise and releasing whistles of despair. The entire display was beautifully mournful and sad, and Cael realized it was the echo of Raz's mourning heart.

All at once the performance ended, the flames shrinking back to their previous but substantial size and calming down. Raz's eyes slowly opened, her expression pained, and blinked out a single lava tear. Cael was tempted to wipe it away, but reminded himself they weren't that close. Plus it was probably _unwise_ to touch a lava drop without pyrokineses. "And things will nevah' be the same." she finished, glancing over at him sadly. The ebony jack nodded soberly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean; after leavin' my mob I knew _my_ life would nevah' be the same." he replied. Raz leaned back on her palms then, relaxing and tilting her head at him, melancholy expression lifting into one of calm curiosity, half-lidded yes regarding him peacefully.

"Why _did_ you leave?" she inquired. Cael shrugged.

"Ah, anothah' sob story like yours; family problems." he replied.

"Well I've heard commiserating feels bettah' than sufferin' alone." Raz encouraged. Cael smirked softly, glancing over to find the jill now wearing a similar expression.

"Well it went like this; my fathah' was stationed to serve at a particular kangaroo mob, healin' their dreams from nightmarish elements and whatnot. _I_ was born with his powers, and he trained me up to take over his position someday. But..." the jack trailed off.

"He didn't turn out to be all you thought he was?" Raz asked, detaching a single flame from the campfire and holding in her open palm. Cael blinked at her deduction, then shrugged.

"You could put it that way," he replied. "He went rogue, basically; doin' the opposite of his job. Raz cupped her free paw beneath the flame-bearing one, focusing on the jack with calm and understanding.

"He made nightmares out of good dreams," she summed. Cael nodded.

"I nevah' _did_ undah'stand _why_. Anyways, the leader of the mob decided to take action against my fathah' real quick; he-" Here Cael suddenly locked up completely, voice cutting off sharply. He hated to just _remember_ what had transpired. Suddenly a gentle paw pulled open one of his curled fists, and he found his palm warmed soothingly. He turned to his head to see Raz holding out her flame, holding his paw at a close but safe proximity to the tiny fire. His cyan eyes flicked over to hers inquisitively.

"Warmth always helps sooth the body, pyrokineses or no," Raz explained. "That's what I've learned over the years." Cael nodded, then gave a savvy grin.

"Well I must admit it's not doin' any harm," he admitted. Raz smirked and gave a slight chuckle, releasing him. However the jack kept his paw close to the flame, taking the warmth as encouragement.

"So what happened to your daddy?" the jill inquired. "Did they dump in the psycho bin or somethin'?"

"No," Cael replied. "They...they killed him." Raz gave a jerk, paw clenching into a fist and snuffing out the small flame, eyes flashing in what appeared to Cael as a dangerous fashion.

Blinking, she replied calmly, "I...I'm so sorry. How old were you?"

"Oh, I was about nineteen; this happened two years ago." Cael replied softly. Raz nodded. Taking a deep breath, she cupped both paws and formed another small flame. Then silence stretched between the two Procoptodons for a length of time.

"I nevah' really knew my parents; I was an orphan." Cael blinked in surprise.

"Oh...I'm so sorry," he replied. Raz merely chuckled.

"You and I seem awfully sorry for each othah'," she noted. Cael chuckled as well.

"So, you were adopted, then?" he asked. "You said, you know, your _family_ was ah...infiltrated and all..." he trailed off uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I had a pretty good family," Raz replied. "Rough and tumble as they were, they each had a heart. Things were great until..." she paused, staring into the fire.

"Until what?" Cael inquired softly. Raz suddenly frowned, shaking her head and turning away decisively.

"It's complicated. _Real_, complicated." And after that she said no more. Cael sat for a while, hoping she would turn back, but to no avail. It seemed as though she had said all she wished to say.

"Well...if that bunny comes back," he began. Raz merely shifted her head slightly, as though listening. "Just know that I'll come runnin'," he finished, then stood and took his leave. It was final; their moment was over. Raz wanted her space back, and Cael was honestly too afraid to refuse.

* * *

Raz turned slightly and watched Cael leave, her heart pumping a mixture of emotions. He needed to stay away from her; she wasn't ready to have any more friends after being ripped away from her family so quickly. In all honesty she wasn't quite sure why she'd allowed him to stay so long. Sure she was grateful to him for fixing the nightmare Magnus had tortured her with, and of course she did him a solid by healing the burn she'd accidentally inflicted. But she shouldn't have let him sit by her fire and just _talk_ like that. She groaned and flopped onto her side, shaping her fire bed once again. She slipped into unconsciousness with the tiny comfort that at least her new acquaintance was kind enough to promise his protection of her dreams.

* * *

**And there's chapter 5, at last! I'm a bit iffy on the ending, but overall I think I did pretty good. And yes I know you guys probably wanna' see more of Squint's sisters, so I'll do sme more work on them nextchappie! In the mean time I would like to thank:**

**96DarkAngel**

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Also, I highly recommend checking out MBSAVfan1's story 'Forced'; the whole story is a real treat, and the latest chapter is a shocker! Oh an quick update: Aranga's voice is done by Miranda Cosgrove. Till next chappie!**

**In Christ alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer**


	7. Chapter 6

Changed

Cael slammed his foot into a large stone, sending it skidding across the pond with the speed only a kangaroo could give. He let out a frustrated growl and grabbed a nearby tree, slamming his forehead into it repeatedly, then stepped back and tugged harshly on his ears. "You stupid _idiot_!" he growled. "You promised yourself you wouldn't fix any dreams until _after_ you'd spoken to Rapha, and then, you go mess with this _pyrokinesiac_ kangaroo's nightmare! And not only that, you...you _chose_ her, _bonded_ with her, _ugh_!" the jack raved to himself. "I don't have _time_ to be constantly backtracking to help this sheila, I'm on the _run_ for cryin' out loud! I've gotta' find Rapha and fix everything before it's too late!"

The sun was setting now, signifying that most creatures would be heading to bed. Cael had fallen asleep after he'd left Raz, as it had been very late and he was tired himself. Now he'd spent the whole day punishing himself for choosing Raz as a patient. Dreamcatchers, in certain instances, could choose specific people to bond with mentally. This ensured that, no matter who was in the area, and no matter how close they were, the bonded patient's nightmares would alert the Dreamcatcher first, demanding attention. "How did it even _happen_?" Cael asked himself, pacing in front of the pond. "I was just tryin' to figure out what was wrong, and all of a sudden I find my mind melded with this living _flamethrower_!"

The jack finally sighed and plopped onto a large stone, sitting with his face in his paws. "Oh, what am I gonna' do?" he moaned. "I can't just _make_ her go along with me, I should be staying _away_ from her! She clearly doesn't want constant company right now, as it is I'm probably budging in on her whenever I come to fix nightmares. And I _have_ to stay ahead of them; if they catch me I'll _nevah_' get a chance to find Rapha and make things right." Cael heaved a sigh to himself, then thought silently for a while. "Maybe I could..._convince_ her to tag along with me," he muttered, holding his chin thoughtfully.  
"Not grab her arm and drag her along or nothin', just...maybe see if she has a problem that Rapha could fix as well!" he realized. A grin touched his face. "Yes! I'm sure a sheila who lost her birth parents, her adoptive family, and is now all alone with brand new powers would need _something_ from Rapha. All I have to do is convince her to come with me before _they_ catch up to us!"

* * *

A large ice ship ran aground on a sandy beach, finally ending its journey from the other end of the continental shard and resting at its new destination. A small figure leapt up onto the bow, eyes glowing in the moonlight as they scanned the shore for anything that could threaten the crew onboard. Several other pairs of eyes joined, all crowding close to the rabbit, who then gave a nod of satisfaction. "Alright, here's the plan," Squint began, turning to his brothers. "I don't know where my dad is exactly, but this is the best place to dock. The sooner we search the land, the faster we find my dad, so we're gonna' spend tonight on the continent." Everyone gave a nod.

"We'll leave the gangplank up so no one steals the ship, but _everybody_ is going ashore, clear?" the new captain instructed.

"Crystal," Gupta replied with a grin. Squint smirked and gave a nod.

"Good, now everybody disembark!" the rabbit commanded. "Follow me," With that he lead his brothers down the gangplank onto the beach, crouching on the sand for a moment. After giving the area one more assessment, he stood and began making his way inland. They soon reached a forest of large oak trees, and Squint decided it would be the best place to bed down for the night. He stopped in one particular clearing, looking around calculatingly. He may have been the youngest of them, and he may have been suffering the worst of them, but he was in charge now.

He had to think about the well-being of his brothers; he was the one keeping his family safe. After giving the area a scent check, he concluded it safe for the night. "We'll sleep here," he said decisively. "Gupta, light us a fire,"

"Aye aye!" the badger replied with a salute, then got to work.

"The rest of you bed down for the night, make yourselves comfy. I'm gonna' do a little scout work," With that Squint left the clearing, heading deeper into the forest to check for anything nearby that could threaten the group. The only weapons they had now, aside from his knife and Raz's boomerang, were claws and teeth. They needed to find somewhere that they could replenish their weapons, preferably like the one they'd gotten their original ones from. After walking alertly through the trees for a time, Squint stopped to gaze up at the moon. He heaved a deep sigh, thinking back on all of his happy memories with Raz.

A small smile touched his lips as he remembered the first time she'd let him hold a weapon; he could hardly talk, and he was still a very weak, tiny kit, but she'd seen it fit to introduce him to the pirate life. "Remembering your _dear_ mother figure?" a voice sneered from the darkness. Squint's eyes widened and he was alert immediately, spinning around to see Magnus standing amongst the shadows. Eyes narrowing, he summoned a second knife made of sand, and set himself in a battle stance. Magnus laughed softly. "Oh don't worry; if I was going to attack you I wouldn't have spoken at all. I have no plans of destroying you tonight." he continued, walking into the moonlight slowly and tauntingly.

Squint remained silent for the moment, trying to assess his father's imposter. "It's a real shame, you know; her being gone, you unable to get her back. You seem so fond of her, it almost breaks my heart." Magnus continued. Squint scoffed.

"Except for the fact that you don't have one," he muttered, turning away and holding both knives by his sides. The older buck simply laughed once more and came up behind him.

"Very smart; you would have done well, had you stayed my pupil." he replied, peeking over the younger buck's shoulder. Squint pursed his lips and stepped away, but Magnus followed. "You know it's not too late to..._reconsider_ our relationship," he said. "You have much power, and I could teach you to use it." he continued, following Squint as he took a few more steps away. Eventually he gently lay both paws on Squint's shoulders, squeezing them gently. But the younger buck spun around and yanked himself free, holding both knives against Magnus's throat. All was silent for a moment.

"I don't _need_ to reconsider my opinion of you," he hissed. "Let's get something straight here; you will leave my family alone, or I will give you a _hernia_ that will be _so_ deep, _so_ deadly, and _so_ painful it will take _magic_ to get it out of you." he ended in a snarl. "Are we clear?" Magnus smirked.

"Of course," he replied. "It would be very hard _not_ to understand someone as..._literal_ as you." he replied.

"_Good_," Squint spat. "So now for the important question; are you going to do as I want or will I have to _actually_ give you the hernia?" Magnus gave another laugh.

"Believe me, I'm _far_ more interested in _you_ than those scruffy little vagabonds," he replied. "The only one you need to be concerned over the safety of...is _yourself_." Squint sniffed and released the older buck, who stepped back and melted into the shadows.

* * *

**And at last I come bearing chapter 6! We see a little bit more of Cael and the pirates in this one! And Magnis tries to tempt Squint...which thankfully fails. XD Thank you to:**

**96DarkAngel**

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing e previous chapter! Yeah, sorry it took me so long to decide to continue, I was just caught up in other stuff. But I'm back! I mightbork on writing this one, Flames Witching, and my original book all at once...that will make for an interesting next few months! XD Plz review and tell e what you all think! Till next chappie! **

**And before I forget...**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer (Gal. 2:20)**


	8. Chapter 7

Changed

Squint returned to his crew slightly worried. He had already lost his only known sister; he wasn't about to lose any of his brothers too. Noticing that Gupta was still awake, the buck walked over and sat beside him, both staring into the flames for a moment. The rest of the pirates lay sleeping soundly, or sitting, in Silas's case. "So, everything checked out?" Gupta inquired. Squint swallowed.

"Magnus is following us," he replied softly, crossing his arms and hooking one knee over the other. "We have to be wary, wherever we go." Gupta nodded.

"You know..." he began thoughtfully. "Not too long ago, you would have gone up against any enemy of ours. No matter how dangerous they seemed...you had _utter_ faith we would come out on top. And then...then we lost Gutt. And we put all our faith in Raz. And then...some evil imposter snuffed her out like lamp light." Squint's chest tensed at these words, but he pushed the discomfort down.

He was in charge; he had to move on, had to be the one who remained strong for everyone else. "And now it seems like you suddenly understand how dangerous the world is." the badger finished, eyes lingering on the flames. Squint remained contemplatively silent, mulling his brother's words over.

"I guess I thought _I_ was the most dangerous thing in the world..." he muttered softly. "And then...seeing my only two superiors get wiped out like they were nothing..." He paused and gave a shrug. "I suppose I realized how much _weaker_ the rest of us are. Including _me_." A paw lay itself on his shoulder, and he looked over at Gupta.

"At least you are finally _ut'thiti upara_. Twenty-one years is a long time to be a child, my _brahtr_." the badger encouraged with a grin. Squint couldn't help but let his own grin slip through, before lightly shoving his brother back.

"_Faire taire_, if we're playing that game." he muttered. Gupta chuckled.

"Tell me, what did Magnus do when he _mukhomukhi ana_ you?" he inquired, crossing his arms.

"Manipulation," Squint replied. "_Tentation_, mostly."

"What could he possibly tempt you with?" Gupta asked.

"Training," Squint replied softly. "He still wants me to be his apprentice, to learn how to use my sands." The buck lifted one paw, summoning a small cloud of the black grains to swirl around it.

"This is something you desire?" Gupta asked softly, a concerned gaze flitting across his expression. Although whether he was concerned over the possibility of Magnus taking him over or his lack of stability, Squint wasn't sure. The buck shrugged.

"Not really," he replied truthfully. "I already know a good bit. I'm not too keen on getting any deeper."

"Explain." Gupta urged gently. Squint sighed.

"Even when he was teaching me...even before I knew he was the enemy...it felt _wrong_." he replied.

"Wrong how?" Gupta inquired, voice concerned this time. The buck shook his head, trying to formulate the proper way to phrase his unusually complex emotions.

"I've spent my life as blackhearted pirate, and never seen anything wrong with it. But...what Magnus gave me, when I was little...it's not _just_ villainy. It's _deeper_ than evil. It's the ultimate bad guy. And...I don't like it," he added with another quick shake of his head. "It makes everything else I've done in my life suddenly seem..._darker_." Gupta studied him for a while as silence stretched between the brothers.

"Darker?" he repeated. Squint nodded soberly.

"Like there's a reason the world gives piracy a bad rap," he muttered. "Like there's more to it than just the adrenaline of battle, the good food, the music, the adventure." Another silence lapsed as the youngest and oldest brothers suddenly delved into their own thoughts. "I never really thought about this before, but..." Squint began. "Even our crew was like a family of sorts, and everyone considered _good_ has some sort of family. What if...most pirates have that outer appearance of being mean and violent...but there's nothing behind that to show they have loyalty to each other? I mean, you can't run a ship without at least _some_ loyalty to the captain, but..."

He sighed. "You get what I'm trying to say?" he asked, turning to Gupta with a tired expression. The badger nodded.

"I have never considered such things either," he admitted. "But you make a very good point."

"Yeah," the buck replied, turning back to the campfire. "I wish...I wish, you know, I could have seen her do it, one more time." he said, nodding towards the flames. "If I had known...that was my last night with her, I...I would have just..." He struggled to express his emotions, not at all used to revealing so many internal aches and regrets. Then again, he'd never had so many of them before.

"I understand, Squint," the badger assured. The two smiled softly at each other.

"I'll take first watch."

"I'll take second."

"Hey Gup?"

"Yes?"

"You think my sisters will...like me?" the buck asked reluctantly. Gupta grinned and pulled him into a noogie.

"I'm sure they'll love you." he replied honestly.

* * *

The crew of brothers awoke the next morning, rising early as they'd been trained to do. They ate a breakfast of freshly picked fruit, unaware of any pursuers or spies. Yet it was just after they'd finished eating that the attack took place. Squint was taken by surprise as golden whips of sand appeared out of no where, dragging his brothers into the surrounding brush rapidly despite their resistance. He was able to rescue Gupta by forming his own sands into a knife and hacking him free, then the two stood back to back, turning slowly and peering through the trees to locate their attackers. The buck's eyes narrowed suspiciously; he could see glowing pairs of eyes peering calculatingly at him through the leaves. "Show yourselves, _cowards_!" he spat.

He counted the pairs of eyes in an attempt to size up their chances. He eventually reached fifteen. "_Fifteen..._" he thought, memories flashing back to one of his conversations with Magnus. "_No way, it can't be! But...it's the right number...and they're all working together..._" Squint was jolted from his thoughts by the sight of yet another tendril zooming straight towards him. He dodged to the side, reaching back and grabbing Gupta, yanking him out of the way as well.

More tendrils began attacking, and the two pirates were forced to duck, slide, and flip to avoid them. Squint used his sand as a barrier when the tendrils got too close for comfort, doing his best to shield both himself and Gupta. Unfortunately they both grew weary, and Gupta was the first to fall. Two of the tendrils wrapped around his midsection, a third wrapping around his mouth, and dragged him quickly out of sight. Squint turned, finding the badger gone, but had his own assailants to worry about. Another golden tendril shot out at him, and he narrowed his eyes. With rabbit-worthy speed, he grabbed the tendril with his paws, watching as it in turn wrapped around his arms, before yanking on it harshly.

A grunt of surprise reached his ears as, wonder of wonders, another rabbit was pulled out of the brush, tumbling head over heels for a moment before stopping in a practiced crouch on all fours, glaring at him. It was a doe, with fur the shade of a pink rose, loose ears like himself, eyes bearing a deep ebony color that reminded Squint of Magnus. He shook the foreboding feelings off; this doe was different from his father's imposter, and besides, there was more than one bunny in the world with brown eyes. He smirked at her, taking up a battle stance. "Thanks for the welcome wagon; my brothers and I are obviously a bit out of practice." he greeted cheekily. The light pink doe merely bared her teeth in a soft growl, before standing and summoning her golden sands into a pair of swords. After swinging them expertly for a moment, she too struck a battle stance, glaring at him dead on.

Squint grinned, his fighting spirit reviving. "_That's_ more like it," he muttered, before forming his own sands into swords. "Let's rumba." With that the doe charged, swinging one sword at this throat and the other at his ribcage. Squint blocked both strikes, going into a deadlock. His assailant was stronger than any doe he's ever come across, and he liked it. "Not one for chit-chat during a face-off, are you?" he asked, tilting his head.

The rosy colored doe's eyes flicked a millimeter to the right, before she stepped to the side, breaking the deadlock and spinning away. Squint, confused by her actions, suddenly became aware of a swooshing sound in the air. Dissipating his swords for a moment, he squatted low to the ground and rolled away, turning back to find a second doe with her own golden swords stabbed into the dirt where he'd been standing. This one had sandy colored fur, with a white underside and pea green eyes, one ear flopped over her face while the other hung behind her head. The buck stood properly and reassembled his swords, holding them up with one pointed at each doe. "Of course, gang up on the loner," he muttered with a sly grin. For a while all was still, all three rabbits holding their aim.

A rustle in the bushes alerted Squint, but he only had half as much time as he needed. Suddenly something thin and whiplike slapped his leg, and he attempted to hop over it with both feet so as not to get tangled up. But he only succeeded in tripping and launching himself into a headfirst tumble, landing on his side a few feet away. A third doe leaped out of hiding, standing in a triangle formation with her sisters and snapping her whips threateningly. This one bore a cream colored pelt with chocolate brown eyes, her ears completely wrapped up in a large leaf and hanging over her right shoulder. "As far as talking goes, you ladies really put the 'silent' in 'silent but deadly'." Squint commented, raising an eyebrow. Then the one with whips charged, swinging them both for his throat.

Dissipating his swords again, Squint grabbed both whips, startling the third doe. Then he directed them into flipping the doe over, before narrowly avoiding a kick to the head from a fourth attacker. Turning, he faced them off in a hand-to-hand duel, blocking and kicking, before she stepped back to allow yet another sister to take her place. "_They're only exerting themselves minimally,_" he realized. "_There's so many of them, they can easily take short breaks and allow someone else to take their place._" While he admired such a technique, he knew it was designed to wear _him_ out. But he fought on; he was actually enjoying himself.

They were almost like a bunch of mini Razes; all fighting expertly, either wielding weapons or fighting with self-defense, only they weren't kangaroos. The battle was quite entertaining to him; he'd only fought two other creatures around his size before, so having fifteen rabbit-sized opponents seemed rather fun to him. After all, he knew he wasn't there as their enemy, as they were probably defending their home from intruders. Plus Squint never, _ever_ backed down from a a challenge. Unless of course it was Magnus who challenged him. Numerous different does attacked him to the point where he stopped trying to keep track of them. He push kicked one that came straight at him, then side kicked another in the stomach when she came at his left side.

He spun around and hook-kicked another when she attempted to hit him from behind. His sands were constantly shifting and changing to meet his needs as he was attacked by a variety of weapons, and his strength was waning rapidly. He began to heave for breath, desperate not to be overtaken. Being taken captive by his older sisters did not sound pleasant in the slightest, based on their first reaction to him. And yet he really had no other plans than to fight to exhaustion. Eventually he paused, and found himself fully surrounded; fifteen does, ranging in a variety of heights, colors, weapons, and ear styles, all stood around him in an effectively trapping circle. And then Squint realized he could never win without seriously injuring any of them; an act he was less fond of every day.

His shoulders slumped and his expression drooped with defeat. "Sea monkeys," he muttered dejectedly, before getting pounced on from behind. After hitting the ground, he was flipped over on his back and held in place with a golden sand knife against his throat. The knife-bearer straddling him was an orange furred doe with lime green eyes, her ears loose and flopped over her left shoulder.

"He's the one, Natasha," a feminine voice said, although Squint didn't care to figure out which one had spoken. Natasha tilted her head at him for a moment, before gripping his chin tightly. Squint's lip curled and he tried to jerk free, but the doe merely gripped him tighter, staring intently into his eyes. He was suddenly hit with a strange sensation; it was as though someone else's conscious was probing into his, trying to open his mind and see his thoughts and emotions. And he didn't like his thoughts being made available for someone else to see. Squint tried to tell her to get off, to leave his brain alone and let his brothers go. But all he could manage were a few tiny moans and grunts through gritted teeth.

He was held captive not by her weapon, but by her all-reaching gaze. Remembering the time he'd tried to throw Magnus off his trail, the buck forcefully put up a mental barrier around his mind, sealing it off from Natasha's probing gaze. The doe blinked, and suddenly she was looking at his eyes rather than through them. "_It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you,_" a voice soothed. Squint barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"_Oh great; someone else who can talk in my head,_" he thought sarcastically.

"_Just relax, I only need to look,_" Natasha's voice assured. Squint gave her a deadpanned look.

"_You're very privileged I'm letting you do this,_" he thought, before reluctantly releasing the barrier. The doe's eyes pierced into his mind once more, deeper this time, flowing through his head in a sensation Squint was not accustomed to. He twitched slightly in discomfort as another rabbit's head flitted through his, stopping every once in a while to open up a memory, soak in a few moments, before closing it and moving on to the next. After a while, however, it became soothing, his eyes half lidded as they stared straight forward. All he could see were Natasha's lime green orbs, unblinking, staring glassily at him. It felt as though she was carving a tunnel in his mind the deeper she went, leaving evidence she'd passed through. Suddenly her eyes widened and she turned away with a gasp, breaking eye contact.

The tunnel she'd carved receded in an instant with frightening speed, and the buck felt as though he'd been freed from a mental shackle. Squint's own eyes blinked for a moment before returning to normal. He eyed Natasha uncertainly, wondering what she'd seen. The doe panted softly, knife still held to his throat. She slowly looked up at the ring of sisters gathered around them, expression grim. "Faith, we have to talk," she said, seriously. Squint slowly turned his head to see one particular doe he'd failed to notice before.

Her fur was pure white, her arms decorated with leaf gauntlets bearing swirly cutout designs that let her fur show through, her ears half encased in a leaf wrap. But what shocked Squint the most was her eyes. They were a bright shade of gold that reminded him far too much of a certain kangaroo. He let his mouth drop open slightly in shock, before he was yanked to his feet and bound by a golden rope around his paws, which changed into a vine after a moment. The buck's expression soured once more. "Oh joy," he muttered.

* * *

**And we have chapter 7 finally up and running! Squint has at last met his sisters, and they totally kicked his butt. XD To the Guest who flamed me: Thank you for informing me that I tend to take a little too long when expounding on a character's emotions. In fact I've noticed I've been doing less of that since before you flamed. But I would also like you to know that I think flaming someone anonymously is very immature and I will not allow the rest of the review to discourage me because I love to write and I know I am good at it. Anyway, I suppose I should put up the cast role for all of the named sisters, and there are one or to changes that I've made.**

**Faith - Cate Blanchette**

**Natasha - Scarlett Johansson**

**Aranga - Miranda Cosgrove**

**Kylie - Anne Hathaway**

**Magnus - Ian McShane**

**Cael - Johnny Depp (as Jack Sparrow)**

**That should be all of them...let me know if I missed anyone! I'll add to the cast as we meet more of Squint's sister's. Also, my 'w' key had been acting up and it's difficult to make it type, so if you guys ever see a word that looks like it's missing a 'w', just let me know so I can go back and fix it. Thank you to:**

**Guest**

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and tell me what you all think! Till next chappie! :D**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer (Gal. 2:20)**


	9. Chapter 8

Changed

"So...you still think they _love_ me?" Squint tossed over his shoulder at Gupta. The pirate brothers were in a single file line, one meter in between each of them, tied together with vine ropes made from the does' sand. Squint's front paws were hanging limply in front of his stomach, wrists bound together. Ten of the sisters had remained to transport the pirates, while the remaining five had gone ahead to prepare for their arrival. Faith led the procession from the front, Natasha walking beside her as the does conversed in hushed tones. Squint had been peering at them earnestly for the past half hour, but grew bored upon realizing he could glean nothing from them.

"Well, they certainly love to _fight_ you, that's for sure," the badger replied with a shrug. Squint scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the front.

"Hi there!" The cheery greeting surprised the buck, causing him to jump back and turn to his left, eyes wide.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. The doe beside him merely giggled, her crystal blue eyes sparkling. Now that he was no longer in fighting mode, Squint took a moment to observe her coloring. Her fur was a pretty shade of dark brown, her ears tied back with a vine so that they held the appearance of a braid, and her nose was the same nice shade of pink that all her sisters had. Her buck teeth were much smaller than his, and were both the same length, but they still appeared sharp like the point of a two-edged sword. He was most intrigued by the golden mark decorating her chest; it was a simple, large heart, nothing intricate, yet it suited her, in a way. She skipped beside him merrily, about three inches shorter than the buck, appearing carefree and happy as anything.

"My name's Kylie," she continued, ears swinging left and right.

"Nice to meet you, Kylie," Squint replied reproachfully, eyeing her warily. The doe giggled.

"Don't worry; my sisters and I aren't always so mean. We just have to take care of intruders, and strangers, and greet friends when they come to visit, stuff like that. But we don't greet _friends_ like _that_," she assured quickly, before chuckling. Squint rolled his eyes, a smirk creeping onto his features.

"I would hope not; if you _did_ you wouldn't have a lot of friends," he replied. Kylie gave a giggle and slugged his arm.

"You're funny," she praised with the attitude of a young, happy child. Squint winced and wished he could rub the bruise that was forming just above his elbow. But he simply gave a pained grin, deciding at least _one_ of his sisters was worthy company.

"Well, I have four older brothers and a _lot_ of older sisters," he replied. "So, life is _bound_ to be funny for _me_."

"Oh, really? How many?" Kylie inquired curiously.

"Well, there _were_ sixteen, but, _now_ there's only fifteen," Squint replied, glancing away as he lips bent into a sad frown.

"Oh...I'm so sorry," Kylie replied sadly, gleeful demeanor suddenly dampened. She ceased skipping, and resigned to simply walking calmly beside him. "Can I ask what happened?" she inquired, voice soft and apologetic. Squint waited a moment, then cleared his throat before replying.

"Well...she and I were close. Like..._really_, close, and then one day some random guy came along and claimed to be related to me, and he got jealous of my sister." he explained, ending with a shrug.

"How could he be jealous of your _sister_ if he was _related_ to you?" Kylie inquired, nose scrunching with confusion.

"Well...she was my _adoptive_ sister. And...until recently she was the only one I ever knew. I kind of _just_ found out that I have, like, _fifteen_ others." Squint replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, _wow_," Kylie replied, blinking in surprise. "That's a lot to take in." she muttered. Squint scoffed.

"You're telling me."

"But still, _why_ was he jealous? If, you don't mind me asking." Kylie replied.

"_Well_, he _claimed_ to be my dad, and that he'd accidentally _lost_ me when I was a kit, which resulted in my adoptive family taking me in. And, apparently _he_ wanted to be the one who was close to me and stuff, so he decided to, ah..._remove_ my adoptive sis from the equation." Here Squint rolled his eyes with the last, ironic tidbit, "And then it turned out he _wasn't_ my actual dad." Kylie's eyes widened in shock, jaw dropping as she covered her mouth with her paws.

"Oh my _word_, that's _terrible_!" she exclaimed. "Who would _do_ that?"

"Uh..." Squint struggled to decide whether or not to reveal his affiliation with Magnus just yet. He glanced over at Faith, who at that same moment happened to look back at him. Their gazes locked.

Raz's face flashed before his eyes.

Squint instantly flicked his green orbs back over to Kylie, blinking away the painful image as he stifled a gasp. And suddenly a strangely horrifying thought came to him; the thought of Magnus killing sweet Kylie, his youngest yet still older sister. "Well, I'm not so sure your _sister_ would want me talking about that sort of thing." he replied uneasily. He would much rather explain all the details of the story once _all_ of his sisters were on his side _and_ paying attention. Kylie smiled once more and tossed her head.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about _Faith_," she replied. "She just get's ultra protective of the rest of us when strangers come around." she added with a shrug.

"Huh," Squint muttered, glancing at the ground.

"What?"

"Raz...was like that too,"

"Raz? Was she your sister?" Kylie inquired.

"Yeah," Squint replied softly. "She was." They traveled in silence for a while, before Kylie lay a hesitant, gentle paw on his arm.

"I'm sorry, I really am," she whispered. Squint glanced over at her apologetic face, and decided, for the moment, that she was his second favorite sister. He grinned.

"I doubt you couldn't be," he replied. And he supposed the mark on her fur was meant to signify to the true size of her heart. Kylie grinned and gave a small chuckle.

"Kylie!" a voice called, and both rabbits looked up to see Faith giving the younger doe an expectant look.

"I gotta' go, my sis wants me," Kylie said, turning back to Squint. "But I'll be back!" she declared with a smile. Squint grinned.

"I'd ruffle your ears, but I'll settle for a 'go on, squirt'." he replied.

"Hey, I'm _twenty-one_!" Kylie argued teasingly, gently elbowing his ribs.

"So am I, but you're _shorter_ than _me_!" Squint shot back playfully.

"Oh yeah? Well who was _born_ first? Tell me _that_, Sherlock!" Kylie demanded with a grin, crossing her arms and coming almost nose to nose with him.

"_Kylie_!" Faith's call came again, a little harsher this time. The younger doe rolled her eyes.

"To be continued!" she said, gently pressing her fist against his jaw in a mock jab. Squint gave a laugh and turned his face away slightly, but failed to avoid the contact.

"Whatever you say, crazy chick," he replied. With that Kylie laughed in reply and skipped up ahead to where Faith and Natasha stood, both eyeing Squint for a moment before turning their focus to their sister. Squint grinned crookedly and watched her go, unable to help feeling as though she _was_ the younger one.

"So, you think maybe just _one_ of them loves you?" Gupta asked cheekily from behind. Squint snorted softly in reply.

"Maybe just one."

* * *

Cael slowly approached the last place he'd seen Raz, peeking around trees and darting forwards a few meters at a time. It was nighttime once again; the best time to catch Raz in a calm state. Cael arrived to find Raz sleeping in the same position as before, encased in her flame cocoon, enjoying pleasant dreams. He smiled and gave a sigh of relief, before quietly hopping over. "Good; I beat the evil bunny this time," he muttered to himself as he sat beside her. The jack watched as her dream-self once again was joined by the same host of dream-element creatures, all playing roughly with each other and having a joyous time. He smiled softly at the tapping pulse that had alerted him for the past few miles of her sweet dreams, confident Raz was safe.

However, it wasn't long before a tiny, dark tendril seeped into the dreamscape, much to Cael's horror. With a small gasp he reached out to seize control of the tendril, but was shocked when it suddenly froze beneath his paw's shadow. He blinked for a moment, before attempting one of the biggest risks a Dreamcatcher could take. He attempted to move it to his bidding. Guided by his paw, the tendril wound harmlessly through the dreamscape, coming into contact with none of the dream-elements. Cael was shocked; how was he...Then it hit him.

He remembered, back before he'd met Raz, not too long ago; the lead boomer's son. His father's fatal change, the murder committed behind his back. Cael's countenance fell into horror and strain, eyes half-lidded as he began to pant. He shook his head slightly. "No," he whispered, watching as the tendril was sent in Raz's direction with a flick of his claw. "I shouldn't do this, I _can't_...not again..." A pair of eyes bored into the back of his head, but Cael could not submit himself to a second mistake.

He breathed deeply, trying to figure out a way to free himself and keep Raz's dream-self safe. With a determined frown, he sent the tendril to the edge of the dreamscape via another slick of his claw. As it came into contact with the flame wall, Cael spread his other paw, commanding some of the yellow grains that formed it to envelope the tendril, then clenched his fist. The black grains were smothered, changing into their golden counterparts instantly. Cael's body heaved a sigh and gently relaxed, eyeing the newly formed grains with potential. A low growl reached his ears, and the eyes boring into him vanished. Putting the incident out of his mind, Cael gently smoothed the lump of sand into a simple sword, before brushing his paw through the air in a motion that blew the weapon into the grasp of Raz's dream-self.

The flame kangaroo seemed to blink in surprise at the new weapon, before smiling widely and turning to her friends excitedly. A soft laugh arose in Cael's mind as he watched Raz's dream-self play around with her new toy. He flicked his eyes over to see the real Raz grinning in her sleep like a child on Christmas. Her lips formed soft, unintelligible phrases, and Cael felt both relieved and empowered. But he knew there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to resist another, possibly _stronger_ temptation. He knew he had to wake her and pose the question, but allowed himself a few moments to watch her play. Then he gently reached in and stroked the tiny pair of kangaroo ears, whispering softly.

"Raz; wake up sheila, I gotta' ask you somethin'." The jill murmured and shifted in her sleep, slowly responding. The dream-self looked around, eyes half-lidded with pleasure and confusion. "Come on darlin'; wakey-wakey," he continued to encourage. He gently moved so that his claw was tickling under her chin, causing the flame kangaroo to burst into a fit of giggles he heard in his mind. The real Raz began softly chuckling to herself, and the dreamscape began to fade. The other creatures slowly disappeared, as did the dream-self, and Cael had to remove his paw so as not to accidentally burn himself.

After a moment the jill's fiery eyes blinked open, and she carefully sat up, rubbing said eyes before looking around blearily. She jumped upon noticing the jack beside her, scooting away slightly. "Cael?" she asked upon calming down. Then her face relaxed. "Oh, I get it; you were the one who made that sword, right?" she inquired. The jack gave a nod.

"Yeah, I made use of a surprise tool," he replied. Raz smirked and gave a chuckle.

"So why are you here?" she asked, before her expression turned fearful. "Did Magnus...?" Cael held his paws up assuredly.

"I averted the nightmare crisis before it happened," he assured, deciding not to reveal his battle against temptation. "But, I needed to ask ya' somethin'." Raz tilted her head, fiery eyes glowing in a strangely soothing yet attractive way in the moonlight.

"What would you need to ask _me_?" she asked with a slightly suspicious edge to her voice. It took Cael a moment to overcome the feelings he got from the glow of Raz's eyes.

"Listen, I happen to be in the middle of travelin'; I'm tryin' to get somewhere, and I can't afford to get behind." he began gently. "I need to visit this..._special_ person; he's known for helpin' people when they've hit rock bottom and have no where else to go." One of the jill's eyebrows arched with interest, and Cael couldn't help but find he extremely liked her face with such contortions, coupled with the reflection from the moon. "I'd like to help you with your little bunny problem, _really_, I just think it might be bettah' if you tagged along with me." Raz eyed him carefully for a moment, as if trying to read whether or not he was lying to her.

"Tell me about this _person_," she replied, flames crackling between her fingers as her paws supported her from the ground.

"Well, he's commonly liked because he's actually a father of sixteen; fifteen daughters and one son," he replied. Raz gave a start, eyes widening. "Although, the son was taken as a baby, and no one has heard of him since, but the father isn't worried. People say he plans to bring him home soon, when the time is right." Raz's paws were slowly covered with flames as he spoke, but Cael pretended not to notice. "But anyway; he accepts anyone who truly is what they call 'repentant', although I've nevah' quite undah'stood _that_ term. But I worked for him once; _very_ kind rabbit."

"And his daughters were so sweet-" At that moment Raz exploded, leaping to her feet and backing away.

"YOU WORKED FOR _MAGNUS_?!" she screeched with horror. Cael jumped up as well, holding his paws up in a plea for peace.

"No no no, sheila, you've got it all wrong," he replied. "_Magnus_ is actually the _brothah'_ of the one I'm talkin' about," Raz blinked, body rigid. Silence enveloped the pair for a while as Cael waited for the jill's verdict.

"His..._brothah'_?" she repeated. Cael nodded slowly.

"Magnus is the twin brothah' of the one I'm talkin' about; _his_ name is _R__apha_." Raz gave another blink, her jaw slowly dropping. "You undah'stand, sheila?" Cael asked. The jill made a number of spastic motions with both her face and her paws; eye twitching, mouth flapping, fists clenching and unclenching, pointing at Cael and then at some random, far off location.

"H-_how_, w-_who_, what, when, _you_, h-_him_, this, w-_why_..." she stuttered. Cael had to resist a rather strong urge to laugh; she looked like she was having some terrible conniption fit, even though he knew she was probably experiencing a huge shock. Finally she regained control of herself, fixing him with a squint-eyed stare. "You're tellin' _me_, that the father of those fifteen girls, and _one_, _single_, boy, is _not_ Magnus?" she asked for confirmation. Cael gave a slow nod.

"Their father's name is Rapha," he repeated. Raz froze for a moment more, mouth open, and her eye gave another twitch. Then she truly exploded, arms lighting with flames and a ring of fire leaping up around her. Cael jumped back slightly in fright as the jill let out a roar of ire. His cyan eyes widened in surprise at the sound she was making, leaning back slightly.

"I can't _believe_ I've been _had_!" she screeched, the flames encasing her paws turning white with her anger. The ring of flames surrounding her heightened to a frightening degree with her scream. "I thought I was bein' _nice_! I thought I was givin' Squint a chance to be with his _real family_! All I wanted was to give my baby brothah' the one thing we _both wanted_!" With each angry emphasis a blast of flame shot itself from the jill's paw, landing in a random spot in the scenery. Some of them landed too close to Cael for comfort.

The jack was constantly dodging projectiles, horrified and confused beyond belief. Raz grabbed both sides of her head as her rant continued. "I should have listened to my instincts; I should have _nevah'_ brought Magnus on the ship! Now my brothah's are _who_ know's where, they think I'm _dead_, and _Magnus_ is probably out frolickin' somewhere doin' his evil deeds!" she shouted. And with that the whole area went up in the flames of Raz's anger and discouragement.

"Raz!" Cael exclaimed. She turned to him snappily, baring her teeth in an angry growl.

"_What_?!" she snapped, teeth clenched. Cael hesitantly peeked through the arms that covered his face protectively, one foot lifted off the ground while he miraculously balanced on the other, shivering.

"C-could you p-please c-calm down?" he whimpered. He wasn't too fond of standing precariously balanced as he currently was, while being surrounded by fire. The jill gave a sigh and her tense body relaxed, head lowering slightly.

"Course. Sorry mate," she apologized softly. She gave a single clap, and the inferno vanished, her paws remaining the only things lit with flame. "I know I need to work on that," she admitted with a morose tinge to her annoyed tone. Cael slowly returned his position to normal, before tentatively hopping closer to her.

"It's alright; I guess, if I'd known, I would've broken it a _little_ softah' to you," he consoled. Raz gave a rueful smirk and looked up at him, pulling the flames off her paws and holding them as a ball in her fingertips.

"Yeah...I've always been explosive though, so don't feel like it's _your_ fault," she replied, gaze turning sad as she moved it to the ground. Cael slowly lifted a paw, hesitated a moment, then set it on her shoulder. Raz's head instantly snapped back to face him, eyes flicking to meet his suspiciously.

"So...I guess you might wanna' see Rapha too? Perhaps, tell him about your strange little predicament?" he asked. Raz eyed him for a moment, then sent him a tiny smirk. And, although he wouldn't voice it in front of her...Cael found the expression rather cute.

"Take me to him," she said firmly. Cael grinned back.

"With pleasure," he replied, and with that the two kangaroos began their journey. "So tell me; who's this _Squint_ charactah'?" Cael inquired. Raz's expression fell for a moment, but she shook it off and focused her gaze forward.

"Remembah' that story I told you about my fam'ly bein' infiltrated?" she replied. Cael sensed he was about to be afforded a long, _long_ story.

* * *

**And at last chapter 8! Sorry it took me so long to post; I fear this chapter may be too long, but I knew I needed to keep Raz and Cael on generally the same timeline as the rest of the group. And I had a lot of fun writing it! XD I love making Raz explode; it's so cool when I see it in my head! Again, if there are any 'w's missing, it's because I'm having trouble with that particular key, but I try my best to keep up and make sure I'm hitting it long enough. So yeah; Squint has officially met Kylie, (who has ****_no idea_**** who ****_he_**** really is) and Cael and Raz are on their way! Thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**Guest**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and let me know what you though of this one! Till next chappie! :D**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer (Galatians 2:20) **


	10. Chapter 9

Changed

"Natasha, are you _sure_?" were the first words Kylie heard from Faith's mouth when she arrived at the front. Her other sister gave a nod.

"I'm positive; I saw so much darkness..." the orange furred doe replied softly. Kylie waited a moment, before cautiously placing herself between her older sisters, greeting them with a smile.

"So, what's up with the visitor?" she asked curiously. Her sisters eyed her for a moment before replying.

"Kylie...you could sense the greatness of his threat, couldn't you?" Natasha inquired. "How dark and empty his void is?" The youngest of the does thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Yes; that was why I went to talk to him," she replied. "He seemed...lonely, longing, like he needed a friend." Suddenly her expression turned worried. "Did you know one of his sisters just _died_?" she inquired. Both does blinked in shock, looked at each other, then back at Kylie.

"What do you mean?" Faith inquired worriedly.

"He said his adoptive sister, ah, Raz, I think? He said she was killed by this guy posing as his dad! It was so terrible!" the younger doe replied, clasping her paws over her rebirth mark with a sad expression. "I can't imagine what he's _feeling_ right now; he said she was the only sister he ever knew of, he just recently found out he has more." she continued. "I hope he finds them," she added genuinely, staring at the ground sadly. Natasha placed a consoling paw on her sister's shoulder.

"Don't worry over it so much, sweetheart," she advised. Kylie gave a short nod, expression ponderous.

"Natasha, you're right!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I'll talk to father about it; he always wants us to tell him what's bothering us." The older doe smiled and gave a chuckle. "In fact, he'll know where his sisters _are_!" Kylie continued, suddenly turning to Faith. "Oh Faith, could we _please_ go find his sisters for him?" she begged. The albino doe paused, glancing over at Natasha momentarily.

"Well, first, Kylie, there are some important things concerning our visitor that need to be addressed before we look into helping him." she replied.

"Like what?" the youngest asked, tilting her head curiously. Faith gave a silent sigh.

"Well...while you were talking with him; did you get his name?" she inquired. Kylie blinked.

"Oh...no I didn't," she replied. "I introduced myself, but, well I think I may have scared him a little bit," she confessed with a giggle. "Eventually he got used to talking with me, but he never said who _he_ was," Natasha and Faith glanced at each other. "Couldn't _you_ find his name, Natasha?" Kylie inquired. "I mean, you were in his _head_."

"He had a capsule set up," the lime green eyed doe replied. "I could only see so much of his life; everything was very blurry, as if he was holding back an element that exists in every one of his memories. He seemed determined to keep certain things from me, and one of them happened to be his name," Kylie blinked in surprise.

"Why would he want to keep his name from us?" she asked confusedly.

"There are a number of reasons," Faith replied, turning to look ahead. "For the moment it would be best if we all didn't get too close to the that buck _or_ his friends." Kylie tilted her head at her sister, before looking sadly back at the strange rabbit whom she had conversed with. Turning back to the front, she smiled cheekily and began skipping once more.

"I liked him," she declared firmly.

* * *

Squint was impressed with their destination; upon arriving they'd entered a large cave, with a yawning entrance and myriads of strange pictures covering the walls, causing the pirates to gaze around in awe. They were led to the very back, where a large tunnel soaring hundreds of feet above their heads stupefied the brothers; how could such short creatures make tunnels so _tall_? And not to mention wide enough to fit two kangaroos side by side? The walls were lit with hundreds of torches, providing ample light for perfect vision. They were not afforded much of a tour, however, as they were soon each placed in a rock holding cell carved into the tunnel wall, sealed by a rock door fashioned into bars. Squint was worried by the separation; he didn't want his brothers all sealed off individually. They were a team and a family, they needed to stick together.

And of course there was the issue of Flynn getting lonely and scared and becoming liable to start crying. The oldest of the does, Faith, gave him a firm glare before leaving him alone, as though she didn't trust him at all. "Whatever did I do to _you_?" he muttered inaudibly in a mocking tone, displeased by his sister's actions. And also saddened by his worst fears coming true; it appeared he was truly _too_ different for his family to accept, bar Kylie of course. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as the thought of his youngest sister came to mind. He wasn't sure how, but it seemed as though something about himself attracted her friendly persona, and he was glad of it. "Maybe I can reach them through _her_," he muttered.

A small rapping on his cell door caught the buck's attention, and he looked up to see none other than the doe in question peeking earnestly at him through the bars. Leaping to his feet, he ran over in record time and gave her a small grin. "What are you doing here?" he inquired curiously. "Doesn't Faith have something for you to do?" Kylie shrugged.

"Well, she hasn't _told_ me to do anything, and besides; she's going to see mother to discuss what to do about you and your _friends_." she replied with a smile of her own. Squint's face slackened with awe.

"Your...your _mom_?" he asked. The mere thought sent his heart racing; he'd spent hours imagining what his biological mother looked like. And now he'd found the place where she'd been hiding from him all these years. Kylie nodded eagerly.

"She can fight even better than _us_! But she's also really loving; in short she's awesome." she replied, before giggling. Squint couldn't help but chuckle with her.

"How are they, by the way? My...friends?" he inquired. Explaining his strange family bonds could wait for later. The dark brown doe turned and looked around for a moment, before facing him once more.

"They're fine; it doesn't look like they're paying any attention to us," she replied. Squint gave an inaudible sigh of relief.

"Good. Listen, Kylie, I..." he began. Her crystal blue eyes stared up at him with untamed interest. Her gaze, innocent as it was, froze him. "There's something I think I should tell you, before too much else happens." His sister tilted her head curiously.

"What?" she inquired. The buck took a deep breath, before glancing down at his stomach. Kylie's eyes followed his, widening upon seeing what had been covered during their journey. Squint's front paws wrapped around one bar on either side of himself, leaving his mark open to scrutiny. "Oh my word," she muttered quickly upon seeing the black design of stars and triangles adorning his stomach. "Have you...have you had that _all_ your _life_?" she inquired, bending forward slightly to examine it. Squint shrugged.

"Uh, for the most part yeah," he replied uneasily.

"I knew there was darkness in you, but..." the doe slowly shook her head. "Not like _this_...not warped with such _power_..." Squint, frightened that he was about to scare her off, quickly tried to placate her.

"But, I'm not here to...give you guys _grief_ or anything," he said quickly. Kylie looked back up at him, a pitying look in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry...this must have been hard for you to live with," she apologized. Squint blinked, considering her words for a moment, before shrugging.

"In a way...yeah," he admitted. "But, look; I came here for a specific reason." Kylie tilted her head.

"What reason is that?" she inquired. The buck swallowed thickly before replying.

"Okay here goes," he began. "My name, is Squint, and..." He paused, silently gauging her response to see if he had set off some sort of alarm. She simply gave a nod for him to continue. "And...I have _many_ reasons to believe that...I'm your baby brother." he finally managed, speaking softly and glancing away. Kylie's eyes widened dramatically, jaw dropping to the floor.

"Oh my word..." she whispered, and Squint began to think she was rather fond of the phrase. She stood frozen in shock for a moment more. "I can't believe this...I...I've _dreamed_ my _whole life_ about this day!" Squint blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"And now...I don't know what to do!" Kylie continued, then grabbed her head, expression turning despaired. "_I don't know what to do!_" she exclaimed, looking as though she were about to hyperventilate. Squint held out both paws to calm her.

"It's okay, it's okay!" he assured. "First of all, _calm down_," he soothed. Kylie nodded, releasing her head and clasping her paws over the heart on her chest.

"Right, calm down, have to keep it together," she muttered, body trembling.

"Good, now-" Suddenly the door to his cell flung open and Squint found himself being squeezed to death by a tiny pair of arms. Kylie's loud scream echoed in his ears painfully, causing him to wince coupled with the fact that she was hugging his bruised arm. "Oh my word, I've waited so long to _meet_ you!" she exclaimed with utmost joy, shaking him slightly. "I _finally_ have my baby brother!" she yelled joyously, spinning herself around the cell and consequently pulling Squint across the floor with her, dizzying the buck. She paused to look up at him with the most elated grin Squint had ever witnessed. "And you're three inches _taller_ than me!" she added, before giving a chortle of delight and continuing to squeeze him tightly, burying her face in his chest fur.

The buck stilled, unused to the feeling of another rabbit hugging him with such ferocity and positive emotion. After a moment he slowly, tenderly, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, then a small smile broke out on his lips. "It's good to meet a sister who doesn't totally _hate_ me," he replied. Kylie giggled for a moment, before pulling back to look up at him.

"You know," she said, cocking her head. "You're just like I imagined you." Squint raised an eyebrow.

"A scruffy wild man with a weird mark in his fur?" he asked. Kylie chuckled, eyes sparkling.

"_Cute_," she replied. "Like baby brothers are supposed to be." Squint's face slackened with shock, eyes blinking in surprise.

"You know if you were anyone else I'd kill you in a heartbeat, right?" he asked. Kylie gave a devious giggle.

"Yeah, I could imagine that," she agreed. Squint grinned back.

"But you can't tell _anyone_ else about this, okay?" he pleaded. "I don't think the rest of our sisters are quite ready to accept me, like you are,"

"Well how can they be if they don't know who you are?" Kylie inquired confusedly. Squint sighed.

"I just need you to keep this between you and me, alright? I don't wanna' sound any alarms and cause myself any more trouble." he replied. Kylie gave a nod.

"Right; no one else will know our secret!" she assured. "I will hide it diligently!" she promised, thumping a fist against her chest. Squint chuckled.

"Thanks."

* * *

**And there we have chapter 9! Sorry it's shorter than the last, but I have important plot events coming up and I want to space the chapters just right so I can torture you guys with cliffhangers. Oops, did I just write that out loud? XD So anyway, thank you to: **

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and let me know what you guys thought of this one! Till next chappie! ;D**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer**


	11. Chapter 10

Changed

Faith's alarm went off when she heard one of Kylie's screams come from the cell hallway. Pivoting on her heels and changing direction from her mother's chambers to the prisoners', her eyes narrowed. She instantly began running back to where she'd left the strange buck, chastising herself for not protecting her youngest sister via giving her some mundane chore. It would have prevented her from talking to their visitor again, and stopped whatever horrors had just taken place. She soon arrived back at where the strangers were being held, and pressed her back against the corner that turned into the desired passage. "...you can't tell _anyone_ else about this, okay?" she heard the buck's voice say faintly, and her eyes widened. She gathered her golden sands into a long sword, mind already formulating a plan.

"I don't think the rest of...sisters are quite ready to accept me." There were quiet, indistinguishable murmurs for a moment, before she was able to discern, "I don't wanna' sound any alarms and cause any trouble." The white doe bared her teeth in a growl; she may not have had any idea what they were talking about, but she had a feeling it wasn't very good. She was even more dismayed to hear Kylie's answer.

"Right; no one else will know our secret! I will hide it diligently!" Keeping her emotions in check, Faith slowly peeked around the wall to see the buck's cell door wide open, neither rabbit visible. Holding her sword out defensively, she slowly crept forward, eyes flicking to the cell directly across from the open one. Inside sat the badger, smiling fondly at the scene across from him. Suddenly his eyes flicked over to hers, and his expression became startled. He held up both paws and shook his head earnestly, looking between her and the open cell.

Faith silently sent a blast of sand his way, watching as it wrapped around his mouth and changed into a leaf gag. After regaining himself, the badger jumped to his feet and began waving his arms madly, although Faith couldn't tell if it was at her or the cell on the opposite wall. Nonetheless she crept onward, faster this time but just as silent. Suddenly the buck asked, "Wait...did Gupta have a gag when we came in?"

"Who's Gupta?" Kylie's voice asked. Faith chose that moment to charge, leaping into the cell and holding her sword out offensively. She was shocked to see her younger sister in the arms of the strange rabbit, her own wrapped around his ribcage. Both rabbits jumped and pulled apart after a moment, Kylie holding her paws up in a placating gesture. "Faith, _listen_-" she began, but the older doe merely grabbed her arm and firmly pulled her behind her own self, aiming her sword at the mark on the buck's stomach. Her heart jumped into her throat upon realizing what adorned his abdominal fur, but shook it off and sent the buck a glare. He scrambled back against the cell wall, wincing slightly even though she hadn't at all touched him.

She took note of this, as upon meeting he had nary a problem fighting off her sisters. His mark was probably the center of his darkness. "Kylie, get out," she commanded. "Go find Natasha,"

"No, Faith, you don't understand! He didn't hurt me!" the darker furred sister insisted.

"Maybe not that you know of," the albino sister replied. The grey buck gulped and eyed her sword disconcertedly, eyes flicking between the golden weapon and Kylie.

"Faith, _please_, I promise I'm fine," the younger sister pleaded.

"_Natasha, come check Kylie,_" Faith summoned her sister mentally. "_She was with the visitor, and now she's keeping a secret. Make sure she's alright,_" The buck struggled to press himself against the wall, turning his face away as her sword's tip came closer and closer to his marked fur. He appeared to be in great turmoil, and it pleased Faith as long as it kept him immobile and away from her sister.

"Hey, you want a confession? Fine!" he said, panting lightly. "I didn't hurt her; I wasn't even the one who instigated the deathly hugging! She came at _me_!"

"_Likely story_!" Faith spat sarcastically. She gently touched the tip of her sword to his stomach, and he gave a hiss of pain, squeezing his eyes shut.

* * *

Squint cracked his green eyes open to look at his oldest sister, awed and somewhat traumatized by his stomach's response to her sword. Even before the weapon had come into light contact with him, it had churned and squeezed painfully, pushing against his spine as though it were trying to escape all on its own. Now that the sword had reached an even closer proximity, it was twisting and stretching in strange ways he hadn't thought possible, and it hurt like _nothing_ he'd ever experienced before. He was even further tortured by the reappearance of Raz's face once again, only this time there was a more specific expression. She was giving a fiery glare that he knew she specially reserved for those who she deemed as threats to her brothers. He'd seen her give it to Magnus every day during his stay on the ship, and for a moment somewhat missed her secretly protective nature. Then a thought struck him; was that Faith's reaction to _him_ being around _Kylie_?

Did she think of him as a threat to her sisters? It was plausible, and he wouldn't have blamed her. "_She's acting just like Raz,_" he realized. "_She's protecting her younger siblings in the best way she knows how; threatening the_ enemy." He shakily held up both paws in a plea for peace, hoping to reason with her. "Look, I _know_ why you're doing this, why you're so uptight," he began weakly.

"Shut up!" Faith commanded in an irritated tone; one that reminded Squint very much of how Raz would speak to Magnus. At that moment Natasha arrived, looking as though she'd been summoned.

She gently pulled Kylie a little farther back, trying to placate her with soothing words. "Come here, sweetheart, let me take a look at you,"

"Natasha, _tell_ Faith that she's being _ridiculous_! He'd _never_ hurt me!" Kylie insisted, pointing a claw at his predicament. The older doe knelt down and gently took Kylie's face in her paws, fixing her with what Squint assumed was the preface of her mind-probing gaze.

"Just let me check you over, okay?" she asked in a soft tone. "I'm sure he hasn't done anything horrible," she added, although the buck could tell she was nervous that he'd done _something_. Kylie struggled for a moment and freed herself from her older sister's grasp.

"I'm _fine_," she insisted once more, before turning to look back at her brother. She gave a gasp of horror, taking a step towards Faith. "Stop it Faith, you're _hurting_ him!"

"I'm sure he _deserves_ to be _hurt_!" the albino doe snapped. Kylie placed both paws over her mouth with a shocked expression.

"How can you _say_ that and _act_ like _this_?" she demanded. "Would Rapha treat him this way? After he quietly let us bring him here and, and _imprison_ him, and _separate_ him from his friends, and, and _everything_!"

"He seemed pretty eager to fight when we first _met_!" Faith shot back, pressing the tip of her sword a little further into Squint's stomach, although not far enough to draw blood. The buck gave a moan of pain and winced deeply at the gyrations his stomach was performing.

"We came out of _no where_ just after he ate _breakfast_! He was probably _defending_ himself more than _anything_!" Kylie argued. Suddenly Faith whipped arouse to face her sister, keeping her sword's point in a compromising position on Squint.

"Kylie, that's _enough_!" she snapped. "Stop arguing with me and let Natasha check you over!" she commanded, before turning back to Squint reproachfully. Kylie's brows furrowed into a glare as globs of golden sand began to form around her clenched fists.

"_No_!" she insisted. "Just because you don't _like_ him doesn't mean he deserves to be tortured! _Father_ wouldn't treat him like this!" And with that she lunged forward and grabbed Faith's shoulder, wrenching the older doe back to a safe distance before releasing her. The very air in the open cell froze with the sudden tension between sisters, Kylie and Faith participating in a glare-off while Natasha stood with a shocked expression. Squint weakly supported himself with the wall, not daring to even _breathe_ too loudly. Several long moments passed, before Faith turned back to him and glared straight into his eyes.

"Natasha, take Kylie and gather the girls together. We need to have a meeting," she instructed. Natasha nodded and placed a gentle paw on Kylie's shoulder, lightly pulling her back.

"Come on Kylie, it'll be okay," she assured. The youngest doe sent Squint a sad gaze, before reluctantly turning and following her sister out. The buck turned his attention back to Faith, who was still sending him what he was considering naming her 'Raz Glare'.

"You don't _know_ how it feels to be in charge of people who depend on you; people you _love_," she said bitterly. Squint fixed her with a glare of his own, resisting the urge to cry out as her sword suddenly pressed against his stomach once more, drawing a single drop of blood, his stomach's actions inexplicable.

"Maybe not for as long as you have," he replied evenly. "But I know how a person like _you_ acts. She was protective of her family too." Faith blinked, expression slackening for a moment, before she flicked her sword lightly across his stomach, inflicting a minimally damaging cut. It still made the buck groan loudly and grit his teeth, gathering two pawfuls of sand as he slid to the floor, before looking up at her with another glare. He let out a growl of anger, teeth and paws clenched, black sand gathering around him threateningly. Faith took several steps back, dissipating her sword and gathering her own sands in retaliation.

After holding the ferocious front for a moment, Squint ground his teeth even harder and released it, allowing the grains to disappear. His arms trembled with his anger and his stomach pounded as though it wished to attack Faith by itself. "I'll let you off the hook for _attempting_ to be a good big sister," he sneered. "But I didn't come here to be put through any more pain. I came here for _peace_," he spat, although at the moment he was sure he looked nothing like someone desperate for comforting. Faith held a sturdy gaze for a moment, before sniffing and turning her back on him, stalking out of the cell and slamming the door behind her. Her golden grains remained for a moment as she left, fiddling with something on the other side of the bars before vanishing.

Once sure she was gone, Squint let out a huff of disgust and rolled his eyes, before standing shakily and shuffling slowly across the room to the bars, tripping and having to catch himself on the door. He looked up to see Gupta moving spastically in the cell across from him, a leaf gag tied around his mouth. Suddenly he reached up and attempted to pull at it, the plant coming free after a few tugs. The badger sucked in a deep gulp of air, before launching into a frazzled ramble. "Squint! It's Faith! She must have heard Kylie scream and now she's coming to...to..." he trailed off upon realizing the predicament had ended.

Squint raised and eyebrow, too tired to be amused. The badger gave a nervous smile and chuckled. "Ahem, sorry. How uh...how are you feeling?" he inquired awkwardly. Squint let out a grunt, tongue lolling out of his mouth in displeasure.

"Not too bad," he replied, before hissing in pain and grabbing his stomach. "Got anything bandage like?" he asked. The badger looked down at what he held in his paw.

"Um...leaf, gag?" he offered, holding the plant out. Squint shrugged.

"Yeah, I'll take it," he replied. "Hold it still." With that he whipped a black tendril across the hallway, wrapping it around the leaf gag. However, after a moment the leaf turned back into golden sand and disintegrated. Squint gave a sigh and rolled his eyes, dissipating the tendril and pushing himself back onto his feet. "Nevermind," he mumbled, summoning a thicker tendril of sand and wrapping it around his midsection, before changing it into a plant bandage. Gupta's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

"You haven't worn that since..." the badger began, but stopped himself. Blinking, Squint looked down at what he'd made. It was a carbon copy of the seaweed wrap Raz had given him.

* * *

**And we have chapter 10! Yeah...Faith ain't too crazy about Squint...And she heard the wrong part of that conversation! XD But Kylie seems convinced that he's not visiting out of evil intent...I wonder why that is? Well, actually ****_I_**** know why...XD So, thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and tell me what you all thought of this one! Till next chappie! :D**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer**


	12. Chapter 11

Changed

The fifteen sisters had gathered in their designated meeting room, all but two having been summoned telepathically by Natasha. Kylie stood dejectedly next to a table laden with fruit, morosely picking up an apple and looking it over with glassy eyes. She hadn't meant to treat her sister so roughly, but she couldn't just _let_ Faith _hurt_ Squint! He was their baby brother; the one they'd been waiting for their father to bring home for twenty-one _years_! It wasn't _his_ fault Magnus had chosen to steal him as a baby, or raised him with a warped, powerful darkness that she and her sisters were trained to fight against. She hung her head with a sigh, wishing she could justify her actions without exposing Squint's secret, thus launching him into even deeper trouble. She knew Faith had always been afraid of meeting him; he'd been raised by _Magnus_, directly burdened with his dark power, and no doubt hated the light her sisters glorified.

"_Well...there is_ one _thing I could try. But, I don't even know if it's true!_" she thought. "_But I have to tell_ someone_ about it sooner or later...maybe I should speak with Rapha about it..._" She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by Faith's voice at the front of the room; she herself was standing at the very back in order to deal with her inner turmoil. Kylie had seen Aranga looking around for her confusedly, as they usually sat next to each other during meetings, but didn't have the strength to walk over and act like nothing was wrong. Because right now, _everything_ was wrong. The dark brown doe looked up at her sister with an apologetic expression, although she wasn't looked back at for the longest time.

"I had Natasha summon you all because a serious problem has arisen concerning one of our prisoners," the albino doe began. "Specifically, the rabbit whom I knew was intending to pay us a visit. First, Natasha, please tell us all what you saw when visiting his memories. I'm sure we're all very curious to know." The orange furred doe glanced at the ground with a melancholy expression, before turning to her sisters with a grave expression.

"He had a capsule set up, and it must have included elements from nearly every _single_ memory he's ever had, because everything was blurry and I couldn't tell very many details. But, I saw one thing for sure; one reoccurring theme in every memory..." she trailed off, expression turning dazed and far off, as it normally did when she looked back at the memories of others.

"What was it, Natasha?" Faith inquired gently. They were all used to their sister's tendency to recall some of the many memories she'd witnessed. Blinking her eyes back into focus, Natasha's gaze became grave once more.

"I saw...in his memory...twenty-one years of piracy." she replied. The group of sisters let out gasps of astonishment and awe, turning to each other to whisper eagerly. Faith raised both paws and took control of the throng.

"Girls, girls! Settle down!" she urged, to which the younger does complied. Kylie stood against the back wall, reveling in the information.

"_He didn't_ act_ like a pirate,_" she thought. "_I mean, he sure_ looked_ like a wild hooligan and_ smelled_ salty and all...but..._"

"But there was something worse," Natasha added suddenly, voice heavy with painful melancholy, expression dismayed. Kylie's head shot up at this.

"What was it?" Faith asked. Natasha swallowed thickly for a moment before replying.

"In his more recent memories, I saw...I saw _Magnus_." Such news launched the sisters into another uproar, all gasping and exclaiming in horror.

"Oh, the poor thing!" she heard Veronica exclaim.

"This is _terrible_!" Hannah and Melody said simultaneously, looking fearfully at each other.

"What will we do with him?" Karissa inquired.

"Should he be here?" Aranga asked.

"Oh, he must have led a miserable life so far!" Skie pondered out loud.

"Girls, settle down!" Faith commanded, and the conversations instantly died out. Kylie herself felt immensely worried; would her sisters figure out who they really had locked up in that cell? Would Faith accept him? Would Squint get a chance to meet Chereth? Would he get to meet _Rapha_?

"_I_ have_ to make sure he meets Father; he'll be able to fix the whole situation!_" the youngest doe determined. Suddenly she found herself making eye contact with Faith, and hunkered down fearfully.

"Now, there may be _more_ to this situation," the oldest began. "Kylie was talking with our visitor just before this meeting was called. He disclosed to her a secret of some sort; an important piece of information she promised to protect." Instantly the throng of does began looking around to try and find their youngest sister. Kylie, desperate not to reveal her brother, took a bite out of her apple and began chewing, looking away with a nonchalant expression. "But perhaps sharing such information could serve as protection against this new enemy, or simply to keep him out of trouble." Kylie reluctantly slid her eyes over to Faith's, before noticing that all fourteen of her sisters were staring curiously at her.

She slowly swallowed the bite of fruit and began to tremble, afraid she would break her promise. "Well...I...uh..." she mumbled. Suddenly she began to _visibly_ shake, but pushed it aside as an effect of being nervous. "He told me about...his past..." she finally managed, beginning to sweat.

"What about his past?" Aranga inquired gently. Kylie gulped.

"H-he has f-four older brothers...and, h-he _had_ sixteen older s-sisters." she stuttered. The throng perked up curiously at this.

"What happened?" Joy asked.

"H-he said o-one of th-them was k-killed," Kylie replied.

"Kylie, I believe you've already told me and Natasha about this," Faith noted, raising an eyebrow. The younger doe gave a nod, but suddenly felt a bout of extreme dizziness, and fell onto the table with a slight gasp, blinking rapidly. Her vision suddenly went swimmy, but aside from that it appeared she was experiencing nothing more than extreme stage-fright.

"Y-yes, I did," she replied, panting softly.

"Kylie? Are you okay?" Karissa inquired.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she assured, standing up properly. She turned to her oldest sister with a sad, yet determined expression. "Faith, I _can't_ tell you what he told me. At least, not yet."

"And why not?" the albino doe inquired. Kylie sighed.

"_Because_, he trusted me with a...a very important fact, that...that needs to be kept private, for the time being."

"Kylie, I'm sure _whatever_ he told you is something that doesn't _specifically_ need to be kept from _us_," Aranga encouraged. The youngest doe groaned and grabbed her head.

"No, no it's _about_ us!" she argued, emotions beginning to over boil as her heart rate increased. "He wants to keep things unknown until you're all..._not_ against him," she tried to explain. "He's afraid of...of causing trouble..and, and he wants-"

"Kylie, I _know_ you think this buck is a friend, but..." Faith cut her off. "But he's dangerous. You _have_ to tell us what he wants you to keep a secret." Kylie shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly feeling sick in her stomach.

"No, no I _can't_ betray him! He's not our enemy, he's telling the _truth_!" she insisted, giving Faith a pleading look. Her sense of consciousness was slowly slipping; she didn't feel like he was standing there, in front of her sisters. She felt as though she half-existed, and she was very, _very_ afraid.

"Why can't you, _betray_ him, as you put it?" Faith inquired. Kylie's body suddenly stilled, anger enveloping her as her expression turned protective.

"I have to _protect_ him!" she shouted. " He's my responsibility!" And with that Kylie froze completely, face slackening as she fell onto her side, eyes slipping closed as her head hit the floor.

"_KYLIE_!"

* * *

**And chapter 11 brings us more development! Sorry it's a bit short, but I wanted to create a cliffhanger effect. XD Plus it provides for a very important even to come. Thank you to:**

**MBSAVfan1**

**for reviewing the previous chapter! Plz review and tell me what you all though of this one! Till next chappie! :D**

**In Christ Alone,**

**KaylaDestroyer (Galatians 2:20)**


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